BEIJING — Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing touched down in Beijing on Monday, beginning a five-day state visit at the invitation of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, according to Chinese state media. The trip marks his first journey to the world’s second-largest economy since taking on the role of civilian president.
Min Aung Hlaing, 69, was the driving force behind a 2021 military coup that toppled Myanmar’s democratic government, plunging the country into civil war and triggering a broad wave of international sanctions. Earlier this April, he was chosen as president by a parliament filled largely with loyalists to the military.
His transition from top military commander to civilian head of state has effectively cemented his grip on power — a shift that brought an end to roughly a decade of fragile democratic progress and pushed foreign investors out of what had once been considered one of Asia’s most promising emerging economies.
During his time in Beijing this week, Min Aung Hlaing is scheduled to sit down with Xi Jinping. He will also hold meetings with Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, who rank as China’s second and third most powerful officials, respectively.
Ahead of the visit, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry offered warm words about the bilateral relationship. “China and Myanmar have stood together through thick and thin, looked out for each other and forged solidarity and cooperation, promoting China-Myanmar relations to achieve considerable progress,” the spokesperson said.
China is not the first nation Min Aung Hlaing has visited since assuming the presidency. In late May, he made a five-day trip to India — a country that shares a lengthy and loosely monitored border with Myanmar — as part of his administration’s wider effort to rebuild international ties after years of diplomatic and economic isolation stemming from global sanctions.
