Head of Myanmar's military government Gen. Min Aung Hlaing visits China for first time since taking power

Myanmar's military leader visits China amid regional tensions, highlighting the complex relationship between the two nations.

The head of Myanmar's military government Gen. Min Aung Hlaing embarked, on Tuesday (November 5, 2024), on an official visit to China, the embattled Southeast Asian nation's most important international ally, for several regional meetings.

It is the first time Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing has travelled to the neighbouring country since his Army seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Myanmar's Army suffered unprecedented battlefield defeats over the past year, especially in areas near the Chinese border. Both Myanmar's ruling generals and China's government have shown concern as pro-democracy guerrillas and armed ethnic minority groups, sometimes working hand in hand, have taken the initiative in their fight against military rule.

But Beijing is now concerned about instability that threatens its strategic and business interests in Myanmar. China's government has maintained good working relations with Myanmar's ruling military, which is shunned and sanctioned by many Western nations for the Army takeover and for major human rights violations.

State-run MRTV television said that Min Aung Hlaing departed on a flight from the capital, Naypyitaw, on Tuesday morning (November 5, 2024) to begin his visit.

He will visit the Chinese city of Kunming on Wednesday and Thursday (November 6 and 7, 2024) to attend three summits: The Greater Mekong Subregion, the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy and the Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam Cooperation. Kunming, the capital of China's Yunnan province, is about 400 km (250 miles) from the border with Myanmar.

The report said he will also have “meetings with Chinese government officials to discuss ways to enhance goodwill, economic and various sectors between the two governments and the people.”