Xi backs Myanmar leader during Beijing state visit
China’s leader met Min Aung Hlaing in Beijing, pledging closer ties as Myanmar’s military-backed government remains widely isolated.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
Chinese President Xi Jinping gave public backing to Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing during talks in Beijing, reinforcing China’s role as the government’s main international partner. The meeting matters because Min Aung Hlaing’s administration remains isolated by many countries after the military seized power in 2021, AFP and Reuters reported.
Xi told Min Aung Hlaing on Tuesday that China wanted to carry forward what he called the two countries’ brotherly friendship and strengthen comprehensive strategic cooperation, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. The leaders met at the Great Hall of the People after Beijing held a state welcoming ceremony.
According to China’s state news agency Xinhua, Xi said China supports efforts by all sides in Myanmar to pursue peace and reconciliation through dialogue and to secure lasting stability in northern Myanmar. Xinhua also quoted Xi as saying the two countries had stood together through hardship.
Min Aung Hlaing led the 2021 coup that removed the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Since then, Myanmar has been consumed by a civil war between the military-led authorities and pro-democracy rebel forces, many of them based in remote areas of northern Myanmar, AFP and Reuters reported.
The Beijing meeting was Min Aung Hlaing’s second encounter with Xi in less than a year. AFP and Reuters reported that he previously attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin in August.
Min Aung Hlaing chose India for his first overseas trip after becoming president in April, but AFP and Reuters cited analysts as saying his repeated visits to China point to a closer relationship with Beijing and may help him gain broader international acceptance.
The talks also touched on cross-border crime, a point of strain between the two governments. Xi said China and Myanmar should keep cracking down on telecommunications fraud, online gambling and drug trafficking, according to CCTV.
Online gambling and internet scam compounds have spread in Myanmar and other parts of Southeast Asia, creating friction for Beijing, AFP and Reuters reported. China has pressed regional governments to act against scam operations that target Chinese citizens and others.
After a closed-door meeting that lasted less than an hour, the two leaders watched officials sign 18 cooperation documents. AFP and Reuters reported that the agreements covered cross-border transportation in the Greater Mekong subregion, free trade, disaster assistance, health and media.
China has backed infrastructure projects in Myanmar through its Belt and Road Initiative, including an oil and gas pipeline across the country and a planned deep-sea port, AFP and Reuters reported. Several of those projects sit in areas affected by active fighting and have faced threats and attacks since the coup.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.