China urges Myanmar’s regime to engage in dialogue with its opponents

Wang is in Myanmar for the first time since the junta deposed Aung San Su Kyi’s democratically elected government in February 2021. His visit is the most high-profile by a Chinese official since President Xi Jinping visited with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing in 2020 to discuss China-backed projects such as a contentious dam and an industrial corridor.

“We encourage all parties in Myanmar to engage in political dialogue within the constitutional and legal framework and restart the process of democratic transformation,” Wang said in remarks published by his ministry. He also pledged support and reiterated hopes for Myanmar’s “political and social stability.”

“China pays close attention to the situation in Myanmar and stands ready to continue to play a constructive role in its own way,” he said. “We will jointly support Myanmar’s efforts to restore its economy, improve people’s livelihood and ensure the rights and interests of people at the grass-roots level.”

According to Ian Chong, a political science professor and regional security expert at the National University of Singapore, Myanmar’s political stability is in Beijing’s best interests.

“It appears to me that Beijing is attempting, or appears to be attempting, to broker some sort of settlement in Myanmar, and their approach appears to be to provide the junta with some of the legitimacy it desires,” Chong said.

“Whether this changes the junta’s behaviour in relation to the civil war they initiated with their coup is debatable, but it may give Beijing additional leverage over the military.”