Irrawaddy-Oct 21
As Washington resumes direct engagement with Myanmar’s military regime, Beijing moved to cement its overarching influence last week by meeting with nine political parties in Yangon to gauge public sentiment. The Chinese delegation was led by Peng Xiubin, director general of the Chinese Communist Party’s International Liaison Department. Participants said the Chinese side raised five key points, including Myanmar public attitudes toward China and challenges in bilateral relations.
“The Chinese side asked how the Myanmar people view them,” one participant told The Irrawaddy. “Some parties noted that sections of the public hold negative or skeptical views. They urged China to do more to show how it is helping Myanmar so that people understand.” Anti-China sentiment in Myanmar has surged since the 2021 coup, triggered by Beijing’s support for successive military regimes, supplying them with battlefield hardware, technology and diplomatic cover. China is a key arms supplier and the biggest investor in post-coup Myanmar, propping up an embattled regime shunned by much of the international community and sanctioned by the West. Most of the parties present at the meeting took part in Jan.-Feb. regime elections that were widely dismissed as a fraud to cement military rule. However, leaders of the National Democratic Force (NDF) and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD)—Htet Aung Kyaw and Sai Kyaw Nyunt—joined the talks despite their parties being dissolved for defying the regime’s electoral roadmap. The meeting came as coup leader Min Aung Hlaing made progress in securing formal engagement with Washington. U.S. officials held their second round of talks with regime representatives in Tokyo earlier this month after Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research Michael Vance flew to Naypyitaw for talks with coup leader Min Aung Hlaing in September. Read more at:
