5 years and 1 election later, why China’s Myanmar dilemma still isn’t over

South China Morning Post · Feb 27, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Early in 2021, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw and held talks with both General Min Aung Hlaing, the chief of the armed forces, and Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of the civilian government.The meeting was a chance for China to voice support for Myanmar’s “national conditions” development path and signal China’s long-term pragmatic approach to ties with its southwestern neighbour, irrespective of who was in power.That strategy, however, came under strain just weeks later, as the military under Min Aung Hlaing staged a coup on February 1, effectively ending a decade of tentative democratic reform.The coup plunged the country into turmoil and thrust China – its powerful neighbour and major investor – into an uncomfortable geopolitical spotlight.Unhappy with Beijing’s ties with the junta, anti-coup protesters set Chinese factories on fire and ran a boycott campaign. Meanwhile, the military’s fighting with resistance forces and ethnic armed groups pushed violence so close to the Chinese border that the People’s Liberation Army conducted live-fire drills on its side of the frontier as a warning.Now, with a junta-staged election concluded, attention is shifting to whether Beijing’s dilemma in Myanmar is easing – or becoming more complex.06:58Myanmar’s junta carries out long-awaited elections, despite critics’ protestsMyanmar’s junta carries out long-awaited elections, despite critics’ protests