Beijing  - The devastating earthquake that hit China on May 12 killed more than 60,000 people, the country's premier said Saturday.

The announcement came as United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon praised China's leadership for its handling of the emergency during a surprise trip to the quake-hit areas.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said more than 60,000 lives were lost in Sichuan Province and other affected regions, Xinhua news agency reported.

Nearly 30,000 people remain missing and nearly 300,000 others were injured, Wen told Ban during a meeting at Yingxiu town in Sichuan Province.

Ban Ki-moon flew to China from Bangkok Saturday in between visits to neighbouring Myanmar which was devastated by Cyclone Nargis on May 2-3, UN sources said.

On the initiative of the UN secretary general, Ban and his delegation flew on a Chinese executive jet to Chengdu, China, Saturday morning where they were greeted at the airport by the Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations, Wang Guangya, and Sichuan's Provincial Governor, Jiang Jufeng.

UN officials said Ban's main mission in Asia had been to go to Myanmar but because he was in the neighbourhood he decided it would also be appropriate to visit China.

Ban and his delegation flew by helicopter to the town of Yingxiu, one of the worst hit, over tent encampments of the homeless and steep river gorges.

Wen told the UN secretary general that China faced three priorities: providing tents, preventing epidemics and preventing what he called secondary disasters.

"The Chinese government, at the early stage of this natural disaster, has invested strenuous effort and demonstrated extraordinary leadership," Ban said.

Ban promised to mobilize UN efforts to support China's relief and reconstruction efforts.

"The whole world stands behind you and supports you. What is important is that you are determined to win," he said.

The two leaders also discussed Myanmar's natural disaster, which left at least 133,000 people dead or missing, and up to 2.4 million in need of food, water, shelter and medicines.

China will attend a pledging conference in Yangon on Sunday at which the Myanmar government is seeking 10.7 billion dollars for rehabilitation projects in the Irrawaddy delta, the region hardest hit by the cyclone.

China is one of Myanmar's few allies in the international community.

The country's reclusive junta has come under intense international criticism for its mishandling of disaster relief for the cyclone victims by placing restrictions on international aid being airlifted in to the country and refusing to allow an inflow of foreign relief workers to facilitate the delivery of aid to those in need.

Aid workers note that Myanmar's regime has been impressed by China's response to the earthquake that hit its central province of Sichuan shortly after Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar.

Myanmar, for instance, announced three days of mourning for the cyclone victims shortly after the Chinese government did so for its casualties.

"They are watching what's happening in China and they are really quite surprised at what's happening there," said Penny Lawrence, international director for Oxfam, who was in Myanmar on an official government tour of the disaster areas between Thursday and Friday.

Ban, who travelled to Myanmar on Thursday, returned to Bangkok Friday night before decided on the impromptu visit to China Saturday. He is scheduled to chair the pledging conference in Yangon on Sunday. (dpa)