Myanmar junta chief to make first China visit since seizing power

Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to visit China for regional summits amid ongoing chaos and armed resistance

Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing will travel to China this week to attend regional summits, state media reported on Monday (November 4, 2024), the embattled top general’s first visit to the influential neighbour since he seized power in a 2021 coup.

The Southeast Asian country has been in chaos since the coup, including along the Myanmar-China border, with an armed resistance movement combining with established ethnic minority armies militias to wrest control of large territories from the military government.

Min Aung Hlaing will attend summits of the Greater Mekong Subregion and the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) and join a meeting with Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam from Nov. 6-7 in Kunming, MRTV reported.

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“He will have meetings and discussions with authorities from China and will work on enhancing the bilateral relationship, economic and development in several sectors,” it said, referring to the junta chief.

Facing anti-junta fighters who have made rapid gains since launching a surprise offensive last October, the Myanmar military’s degradation has alarmed China, which has sealed parts of the border and shut off key imports to territory under rebel control, Reuters has reported.

Published - November 04, 2024 12:49 pm IST