Irrawaddy-Sept 2
Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing is set to meet with Chinese businesspeople for the second time during his ongoing trip to China, following an earlier gathering in Tianjin, in a bid to boost economic cooperation and attract new investment. The second Myanmar-China Economic Cooperation Meeting will be held on Sept. 6 at the Shangri-La Hotel in Chengdu, according to an invitation letter from the Myanmar Consulate General in Chongqing. The invitation states that the meeting will be held during the junta boss’s visit to Chengdu, with attendees including enterprises and associations engaged in economic and trade cooperation between China and Myanmar. Following that meeting, seven memoranda of understanding were signed between China and the regime, covering information exchanges, small and medium-sized enterprises, and customs duties. Min Aung Hlaing stressed at the Tianjin meeting that reopening border gates would be crucial for expanding the flow of goods, adding that trade routes could be extended from northeastern Myanmar to Yunnan Province, Chongqing Municipality, Sichuan Province and Guangxi’s Nanning City. Despite international sanctions, trade between the two countries remains strong. According to junta figures, bilateral trade exceeded US$8 billion in 2023–24 and $7.7 billion in 2024–25, and had already surpassed $3 billion by July of the current 2025–26 financial year. China is also Myanmar’s second-largest foreign investor. But analysts warn that Beijing’s growing engagement with the junta risks sparking a public backlash inside Myanmar. On Monday, advocacy group Justice for Myanmar urged China to immediately end political and military support for the regime. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/myanmar-china-watch/myanmar-junta-boss-schedules-chengdu-meeting-with-chinese-investors.html
