Myanmar’s embattled junta chief arrived in China Tuesday—his first reported visit since leading a coup in 2021—but analysts say the invitation is only a lukewarm endorsement from his key ally and could backfire.
Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing was in the southwestern city of Kunming for a summit of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)—a group including China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia—starting Wednesday.
The junta shared photos of the senior general addressing a gathering of Chinese business leaders, and he is also expected to hold talks with officials.
When the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government in 2021, Chinese state media refused to describe it as a coup, preferring “major cabinet reshuffle.”
China has stood by the junta since, even as others shun the generals over their brutal crackdown on dissent which opponents say includes massacring civilians and razing villages. . .
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