News analysis

Xi gets back to business in Myanmar

Chinese leader's rare single-country visit signals that days of frosty ties are long gone

Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the presidential palace in Naypyitaw yesterday. Mr Xi is on a two-day visit to the country.
Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the presidential palace in Naypyitaw yesterday. Mr Xi is on a two-day visit to the country. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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Sino-Myanmar relations turned frosty almost a decade ago when Naypyitaw, eager to engage the West, alienated its longstanding patron.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's rare single-country visit to Myanmar starting yesterday is a declaration that those days are long gone and Beijing is getting down to business again, say analysts.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 18, 2020, with the headline Xi gets back to business in Myanmar. Subscribe