Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Myanmar’s capital on Friday for the first state visit by a Chinese president in nearly 20 years, a trip that observers said could further cement Beijing’s influence in the country. The wide highways and manicured lawns of Naypyidaw, the capital built by the military junta, were dotted with red banners bearing Xi’s face and greetings in Burmese and Chinese. Xi will also sign a series of major infrastructure deals as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Myanmar deployed fighter jets to escort Xi’s plane, and a welcoming ceremony was held in the presidential palace in Naypyidaw. China sees Myanmar as stepping stone to Indian Ocean, energy security Xi is the first Chinese president to visit the country in 19 years and was welcomed to the capital by senior government figures, including State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi, the effective head of the government. The pair will hold further talks on Saturday and sign a series of belt and road deals. One of the major pacts is for a US$1.3 billion deep-sea port at Kyaukphyu in central Rakhine state, giving Beijing access to the Indian Ocean. A high-speed rail link is on the cards to connect the port and nearby planned industrial zone with the countries’ shared border. Xi’s show of support came as the Myanmar government faces growing pressure from the West over the treatment of the country’s Muslim Rohingya minority. Last month a case charging Myanmar with genocide came before the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands, virtually ratifying the Southeast Asian country’s near-pariah status. But China has refrained from criticising Myanmar’s actions and said it supports the government’s efforts to maintain domestic stability. Myanmar was hit by Western economic sanctions during the rule of the military junta. They were lifted in 2012 when the military agreed a power-sharing deal. China also offers an economic lifeline for Myanmar, despite its wariness over its neighbour’s influence. Bilateral trade was worth US$16.8 billion last year and Beijing holds the largest share – around US$4 billion or 40 per cent – of Myanmar’s foreign debt. Billions of cubic metres of gas and millions of barrels of oil from offshore rigs are pumped each year across the country into China. China also wants to renegotiate one of its biggest investments in Myanmar, the US$3.6 billion Myitsone dam project. It was suspended by Myanmar in 2011 in the face of fierce public opposition due to environmental concerns. But activists are expected to protest in the commercial hub Yangon on Saturday against any plans to revive the project. The rising Chinese presence in the country has triggered a mixed public reaction. Outside Yangon University, where then-US President Barack Obama made a town hall-style speech during his historic visit in 2012, Hein Min Thant, a 15-year-old Yangon local, said he believed Myanmar could make friends with its big and powerful neighbour. “I don’t know much about the Chinese president, but China is a country where the technology is very developed,” he said. “No matter if the country is big or small, if the people are intelligent, the country will develop better.” High expectations for Xi Jinping’s visit to mark 70th anniversary of China-Myanmar relations Ei Kyi Phyu, a 19-year-old university student in Yangon, said a closer relationship with China could help boost the country’s economy, which suffered under Western sanctions. “We have a lot of Chinese products here, like clothes and mobile phones, and good economic ties could help Myanmar to develop,” she said. “China and Myanmar have close economic relations, but Myanmar has an independent relationship with its neighbours.” Rakhine locals, however, fear they will again be overlooked after previous Beijing-backed infrastructure projects left many without land or livelihoods. “They didn’t bring any benefits for us, not even any jobs,” Moe Moe Aye from Kyaukphyu SEZ Watch Group said. Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse and Associated Press Purchase the China AI Report 2020 brought to you by SCMP Research and enjoy a 20% discount (original price US$400). This 60-page all new intelligence report gives you first-hand insights and analysis into the latest industry developments and intelligence about China AI. Get exclusive access to our webinars for continuous learning, and interact with China AI executives in live Q&A. Offer valid until 31 March 2020.