BEIJING, Jan. 20 -- A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday that media reports claiming hundreds of Chinese nationals have been trapped in Myanmar due to fighting are incorrect.

A Chinese consular working group arrived at Myitgyina, capital of northern Myanmar's Kachin state, Monday to provide consular assistance for Chinese nationals detained for illegal logging.

The group will also investigate media reports that hundreds of Chinese citizens have been stranded in Kachin state since government troops and the rebel Kachin Independence Army (KIA) began exchanging fire last week.

According to an initial investigation by the Chinese working team, reports that a large number of Chinese nationals have been trapped in the conflict areas are not true, spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing.

"We will continue to closely follow the development of the situation and protect the security and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens," she said.

As a friendly neighbor of Myanmar, China hopes the country's northern region will achieve lasting peace and stability at an early date, she said.

"We hope parties in Myanmar will try to reduce conflict and frictions and resolve their disputes through peace talks," said Hua.

The clashes between the KIA and the government broke out last Thursday after KIA members took hostage a state transport minister who was traveling through the region in a convoy, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported.

China will continue to play a constructive role in promoting peace talks according to the will of the Myanmar people, and will work with Myanmar to safeguard peace and stability near the border, said Hua.

The KIA took up arms in 1961 and is the second-largest of about 20 ethnic armed groups in Myanmar.

Tensions in Kachin state, where a 17-year ceasefire between KIA and the government splintered in 2011, have overshadowed efforts to call an end to the multiple civil wars in Myanmar's ethnic minority borderlands.