A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Myanmar's new president begins a weeklong trip to China today. He led the military junta that staged a coup in 2021. Now, later, he was voted in as president in an election organized by the coup makers. Michael Sullivan reports from neighboring Thailand.
MICHAEL SULLIVAN, BYLINE: China wasn't all that pleased when Min Aung Hlaing staged the coup that deposed the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The civil war that followed threatened Beijing's economic interests and its citizens in the border areas. But it's invited the former military leader turned president anyway. After throwing its weight behind the election he organized, one dismissed by human rights groups and Western governments as a sham, but one China clearly hopes will help stabilize Myanmar in the long term. Yun Sun, China director at the Stimson Center in Washington, explains China's position this way.
YUN SUN: Since the creation of the nation, we have not seen a single day when the Burmese military was not playing a central role in the politics. So that is a horse they have selected and chooses to move on with.
SULLIVAN: And they're not alone, with neighboring India also hosting Min Aung Hlaing earlier this month.
SUN: With India and China willing to receive him, I think Min Aung Hlaing got his base covered. So moving forward, I think Min Aung Hlaing will feel more confident in terms of dealing with international audience and in terms of dealing with domestic opposition.
SULLIVAN: That's bad news for an opposition and resistance now on the back foot after several years of gains against the military, a military whose numbers have swelled with forced conscription and one whose tactics and capabilities have also improved with help from China and Russia. Myanmar analyst Min Zaw Oo says he expects the president to ask China to keep up its pressure on armed ethnic organizations along the border not to provide weapons for the resistance. He says it's also likely he'll ask for more economic assistance and investment. As for the continued detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi?
MIN ZAW OO: China will probably ask President Min Aung Hlaing about the welfare of Aung San Suu Kyi but not necessarily pushing the government to release her at any time soon.
SULLIVAN: The Nobel Prize winner turns 81 on Friday.
For NPR News, I'm Michael Sullivan in Chiang Rai.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
