Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing aimed at building ties with her country’s powerful neighbour.
China’s official Xinhua News Agency said Mr. Xi told Ms. Suu Kyi that “we appreciate your willingness to boost China-Myanmar ties.”
No public events are scheduled during Ms. Suu Kyi’s low-key five-day visit. China hopes to use the meetings to shore up its declining influence in Myanmar following democratic reforms that have seen the Southeast Asian country shift away from Beijing toward Western nations, Japan and other potential investors.
China considers Myanmar strategically important as a gateway to the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, and wants to secure oil and gas pipelines in its Southeast Asian neighbour.
Ms. Suu Kyi’s warming ties with China’s rulers represent a jarring break from her years as a democracy icon held under house arrest by Myanmar’s junta. Human rights groups have urged her to call for the release of Chinese fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, who was imprisoned for his calls for democracy.
Ms. Suu Kyi has maintained since her release in 2010 that her country must maintain friendly relations with China, and the trip demonstrates her determination to accumulate diplomatic credentials to potentially contest Myanmar’s presidency no matter how it might clash with her former image.
Ms. Suu Kyi’s trip is officially a party-to-party meeting between China’s Communist Party and her opposition National League for Democracy, which is expected to perform strongly in elections later this year. She is constitutionally barred from contesting the presidency because of a provision barring people who have been married to foreigners, but has campaigned for an amendment that would allow her candidacy.
She is scheduled to meet with Premier Li Keqiang, and unconfirmed Chinese reports say she will also visit the financial hub of Shanghai and Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar.
