As Chinese President Xi Jinping rolled out the red carpet for leaders from around the world attending the third Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Forum, which kicked off in Beijing on Tuesday, Myanmar coup leader Min Aung Hlaing could only follow events from afar, as he was not invited.
The Irrawaddy has learned that senior representatives of the junta and its governing State Administration Council lobbied Beijing for months to secure an invitation for Min Aung Hlaing. Badly in need of legitimacy abroad and respect at home, the regime saw the forum as a major public relations opportunity. But China evidently could not be persuaded.
Already barred from summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since the 2021 coup, being left off the guest list for a high-level international event hosted by one of his regime’s few allies no doubt comes as a blow to the coup leader.
The BRI Forum will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and leaders of many Asian and African countries are attending the event focusing on BRI cooperation.
In 2019, Xi invited the now ousted and jailed civilian leader of the National League for Democracy government, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, to the second BRI Forum. At the event, the then State Counselor held talks with Xi, then-Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and other high-ranking Chinese officials.
Junta Deputy Prime Minister and Transport and Communications Minister General Mya Tun Oo has left for Beijing to attend the forum at the invitation of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, according to junta media. He is accompanied on the trip by Minister of Union Government Office (2) Ko Ko Hlaing, who previously served as an advisor to former President Thein Sein.
In September, Mya Tun Oo attended the Global Sustainable Transport Forum in Beijing, where he discussed the development of rail links between Kyaukphyu Township in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State with Kunming in China’s Yunnan Province.
Min Aung Hlaing has been pushing for acceleration of Chinese-backed investments in Myanmar in an attempt to win Beijing’s full recognition for his regime. But China has exercised caution in engaging with the coup leader, who is responsible for countless war crimes, and Min Aung Hlaing has yet to win the recognition from Beijing he craves.
China, while voicing support for the regime on the international stage, has turned down Min Aung Hlaing’s requests to visit its capital since the coup.
A local political analyst said China didn’t invite Min Aung Hlaing to the BRI Forum because it doesn’t want to be seen as officially recognizing the Myanmar regime.
“It’s in their own interest. In a global context, the Myanmar regime is nothing to them,” he said.
But as Myanmar is part of the BRI, China invited the regime minister instead, he explained.
Attending an event to mark the eighth anniversary of the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement on Sunday, Chinese Special Envoy for Asian Affairs Deng Xijun expressed unwavering support for the peace process in Myanmar and said China would not accept any act aimed at breaking up the country.
Observers said Deng’s remarks were intended to provide a degree of solace for Min Aung Hlaing after he failed to receive an invitation to the BRI Forum.
