Chief of Myanmar's military government on first visit to ally China since coup

Myanmar’s military chief will attend three summits in Kunming, China, as the conflict near the Chinese border escalates.

The head of Myanmar’s military government has begun his first visit to China since seizing power in 2021.

According to state television MRTV, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing left on Tuesday morning. The visit includes several regional meetings in a country considered Naypyidaw’s most important international ally.

Min Aung Hlaing led a coup in February 2021 that took power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party.

However, his government has suffered recent setbacks on the battlefield as rebel fighters and armed ethnic minority groups battle military rule, especially in areas near the Chinese border.

China is a key ally and arms supplier to the military government, but analysts say Beijing also has ties to ethnic armed groups that control territory along the border.

Beijing is on edge because of the instability that threatens its strategic and business interests.

Relations between Beijing and Naypyidaw have also been tested over the military government’s inability to crack down on online scam activities in Myanmar’s border areas targeting Chinese citizens.

‘Unity and cooperation’

A statement from the Myanmar government said Min Aung Hlaing “will meet with government officials of the People’s Republic of China and discuss the friendship between the governments and people of the two countries, to develop and strengthen economic and multi-sectoral cooperation.”

China is a major arms supplier and Myanmar’s largest trading partner. It has invested billions of dollars in its mines, oil and gas pipelines and other infrastructure.

However, as Myanmar’s leader embarks on his first trip to the country, he has visited Russia, another key ally, several times since the coup, including a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in 2022.

Myanmar’s ruling military is shunned and sanctioned by many Western countries over its coup and major human rights abuses.

The army chief will visit the southwestern city of Kunming on Wednesday to attend a two-day summit of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) – a group that includes China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed that Min Aung Hlaing would attend, saying: “Against a backdrop of a weakening global recovery and geopolitical turbulence, the need to strengthen unity and cooperation and to focus on development and prosperity is increasing. prominent.”