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Xi Jinping to visit Myanmar next week seeking to boost ties and push China projects
- It will be the first state visit by a Chinese president to the neighbouring country since Jiang Zemin’s trip 19 years ago
- Beijing is one of the only major powers to have backed Myanmar over the Rohingya issue
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Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Myanmar next week to boost ties and push investment projects, in a show of support for Aung San Suu Kyi’s government as it faces global condemnation over its treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority.
Xi will begin the two-day trip on January 17, according to Luo Zhaohui, China’s vice-foreign minister. It will be the first state visit to Myanmar by a Chinese president since Jiang Zemin’s trip in 2001.
Luo said in a briefing on Friday that the countries would seek close economic and trade cooperation through Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative – Xi’s sprawling infrastructure and investment scheme spanning Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond.
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Chinese observers said Xi’s trip showed the importance of relations with Myanmar, which is strategically located and stands on the frontline of China’s geopolitical rivalry with the United States and other powers in the Asia-Pacific, such as India and Japan.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of China’s official ties with three Asian nations – Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia. Xu Liping, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted that Xi had chosen to go to Myanmar for his first overseas trip of the year, rather than the other two countries, both of which were at odds with Beijing over the South China Sea.
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“It is a critical year for Myanmar ahead of the general elections in November,” he said, adding that Xi’s visit would be a boost for Suu Kyi, the country’s de facto leader and state counsellor.
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