Myanmar’s junta chief finally goes to China | World News

Few national leaders are as unwelcome abroad as Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the military junta which seized power in Myanmar in 2021. Even North Korea’s Kim Jong Un gets the occasional invitation to Beijing. Min Aung Hlaing, by contrast, has received the cold shoulder from his northern neighbour. But on November 5th the general began his first visit to China since staging a coup nearly four years ago.

Chinese leaders have never liked Min Aung Hlaing, who has been a sharp critic of China’s cosy relations with ethnic armed groups inside Myanmar. Moreover, his putsch led to a civil war which threatens Chinese infrastructure in Myanmar, and risks sending refugees over their shared border. Chinese leaders declined the general’s request to come to Beijing to meet Xi Jinping. Instead, they invited him to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province to Myanmar’s north, for a small regional summit hosted by Li Qiang, China’s premier. But their real purpose is to prod him to lay out plans for fresh elections in 2025. If Min Aung Hlaing wins those elections, China hopes he will have to give up control of the army. A new commander, the thinking goes, might end the fighting.

It is a long shot. Most of Myanmar is either at war or governed by a collection of rebels. Armed groups would target poll workers for holding what they see as an illegitimate election. But Chinese leaders worry that the fighting will get worse anyway, and that its interests will come under attack. Short of peace, Chinese officials hope that by bringing Min Aung Hlaing to Kunming they can at least signal their determination to prevent the collapse of his regime. While they are no fans of the junta chief, Chinese officials harbour an even greater fear of resistance groups with close ties to the West.