BEIJING, June 15 — Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Beijing today for a five-day visit at the invitation of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, China's state media reported, marking his first trip to the world's second-largest economy since being elected president.
Min, 69, the former junta chief who was the architect of a 2021 coup that led to civil war in Myanmar and a wave of international sanctions, was elected president in early April by a Parliament packed with military loyalists.
His journey from top general to civilian president formalised his hold on power after a coup that ended a decade of tentative democracy and sparked an exodus of foreign investors from what was once one of Asia's most promising frontier markets.
During his visit this week, Min will hold talks with Xi. He will also meet with China's No. 2 and No. 3, Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, the country's top legislator.
"China and Myanmar have stood together through thick and thin, looked out for each other and forged solidarity and cooperation, promoting China-Myanmar relations to achieve considerable progress," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said last week.
China was not the first country that he had visited since becoming President.
At the end of May, the former military commander-in-chief embarked on a five-day visit to India, with which Myanmar shares a long, porous border, as part of a broader effort to re-engage with the rest of the world after years of isolation due to international sanctions.
