Suu Kyi to visit China for 3rd time: report

China offers unconditional economic assistance to Myanmar: expert

Myanmar is enhancing ties with China as its State Counselor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi has planned to visit China this week, her third time in two years to promote the country's economic development and political stability, Chinese experts said.

Suu Kyi will make a “work visit” to Beijing in the near future to take part in a meeting arranged by the Communist Party of China (CPC), Myanmar Times reported on Wednesday.

The information has yet to be confirmed. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told a daily briefing in Beijing on Tuesday that political parties from quite a few countries will send representatives to the meeting but he is not aware of the information on the participants of the meeting.

“The Rohingya issue in Rakhine state will be on Suu Kyi's agenda as the Myanmar government is under great pressure from the West. Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed a solution to help settle the issue,” Gu Xiaosong, an expert on Southeast Asian studies at South China's Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

During his visit to Myanmar, Wang expressed China's support for Myanmar's domestic peace process in a joint meeting with the press together with Suu Kyi, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The number of Rohingya refugees who have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh since August 25 has reached 624,000, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Monday, Xinhua reported.

“Suu Kyi is trying to balance its ties with the West and China. Despite her close relations with Western countries, Suu Kyi is also the leader of Myanmar, who will prioritize her country's interests and develop good ties with China,” Gu said.

Financial Times reported that Suu Kyi's planned visit to Beijing is “a sign that Myanmar is drawing closer to Beijing” as international condemnation of the Rohingya issue rises.

“Ties between China and Myanmar have deepened in recent years as high-level exchanges have become more frequent, especially after China played an impartial mediator on the Rohingya issue, which has earned Myanmar's trust,” Zhu Zhenming, a professor at the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Suu Kyi attended the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in May and visited China in August 2016 after becoming Myanmar's leader.

Suu Kyi's planned visit to China comes on the heels of Myanmarese military chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing's visit to Beijing last week.

Zhu also said that Myanmar has benefited from promoting ties with China on economic development under the Belt and Road initiative.

“Unlike lip-service from some Western countries, as a neighboring country, China has offered unconditional assistance to Myanmar on economic development and disaster relief, which also help promote political stability in Myanmar,” noted Zhu.

“As the leader of the ruling National League for Democracy, Suu Kyi's visit to Beijing would also enhance exchanges and mutual trust between her party and the CPC. The National League for Democracy would learn from the CPC's experience,” Zhu said.

The CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties Highlevel Meeting will be held in Beijing from Thursday to Sunday.