Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was cold shouldered by China under the prolonged spell of Myanmar junta, arrived here on Wednesday to start a “new dialogue” with Beijing as it looks to mend fences with her in the changed political scenario in Myanmar.
Wearing a white top and a pink sash, Myanmar’s democracy champion and winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize was accorded warm welcome by officials at the airport.
Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD), has been invited by the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) for the first time after her release from house arrest in 2010 following 21 years of detention in a bid to end the drift of its policy towards Myanmar which became close to the US and India after the fall of junta.
Leaders of the NLD said she is expected to meet top Chinese leaders, President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang during her five-day visit, even though there is no official announcement here about her programme. “This is an important party-to-party exchange for the CPC. State and Party leaders will meet with the delegation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told media briefing.
“We hope that this visit will help boost mutual understanding between the two parties and press ahead with practical cooperation between China and Myanmar in various fields,” he said. Outlining the Chinese opinion on her visit Bi Shihong, Professor at the School of International Studies at University of Yunnan, located close to Myanmar border, said Sino- Myanmarese relationship is disturbed by the disruption of China-backed investment projects in recent years.
This included the stalled $3.6 billion Chinese-led Myitsone dam project over environmental concerns.