Myanmar military government chief on first visit to ally China since coup

Myanmar’s army chief to attend three summits in Kunming, China, as conflict near Chinese border escalates.

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

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing departed on Tuesday morning, according to state-run MRTV television. The visit will involve several regional meetings in a country regarded as 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 fight against military rule, especially in areas near the Chinese border.

China is a major ally and arms supplier to the military government, but analysts say Beijing also maintains ties with ethnic armed groups which hold territory along its border.

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

Relations between Beijing and Naypyidaw have also been tested over the military government’s failure to crack down on online scam compounds in Myanmar’s borderlands targeting Chinese citizens.

‘Unity and cooperation’

A statement from the Myanmar government said Min Aung Hlaing “will meet and discuss with government officials of the People’s Republic of China on 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 also Myanmar’s biggest trading partner. It has invested billions of dollars in its mines, oil and gas pipelines, and other infrastructure.

However, while the Myanmar leader is embarking on his first trip to the country, he has visited Russia, another key ally, several times since the coup, including meeting with President Vladimir Putin in 2022.

Myanmar’s ruling military is shunned and sanctioned by many Western nations for its coup and for major human rights violations.

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

A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Min Aung Hlaing would attend, saying, “Against a background of a weakening dunia recovery and geopolitical turbulence, the need to strengthen unity and cooperation, and to focus on development and prosperity, are becoming more prominent.”

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Al Jazeera and news agencies