YANGON—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.
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.
This is the first time Min Aung Hlaing (MAL) has received an invitation and visited China since staging the coup in 2021. MAL has long coveted an invitation from China since it would recognize his position as head of state and legitimize the coup. It is to be noted this visit isn’t an invitation to Beijing, but to a provincial city of Kunming. MAL is very much being treated as a backwater state official, and not as a proper head of state as usually accorded.