China FM Wang Yi Visits Naypyidaw — Meets Min Aung Hlaing, Deepening China-Junta Strategic Alignment

Chinese Foreign Minister and Politburo member Wang Yi visited Myanmar on April 25-26, 2026, meeting with junta president Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw — the highest-level Chinese diplomatic engagement with the SAC since Min Aung Hlaing's 'civilian' inauguration on April 10. Wang Yi's visit follows China's attendance at the inauguration (via special envoy Jiang Xinzhi), India's attendance (Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh), and the appointment of ex-Brigadier General and former Myanmar Ambassador to Beijing Tin Maung Swe as Foreign Minister — signaling a deliberate deepening of SAC alignment with China. Wang Yi's agenda centered on 'pauk-phaw' (fraternal) China-Myanmar ties, political and security cooperation, and regional stability — diplomatic framing that in practice translates to Beijing's endorsement of the SAC's political transition and continued Chinese economic investments in Myanmar (BRI infrastructure, Kyaukpyu deep-sea port, Mandalay-Yangon railway corridor, oil and gas pipelines). The visit generated intense international attention: analysts and resistance media noted that Wang Yi's arrival during the same week as the junta's martial law expansion in 60 townships and sustained aerial campaigns killing civilians across Sagaing, Chin, Rakhine, and Kachin provides the SAC with critical diplomatic cover from its most powerful international partner. Wang Yi reportedly did not publicly raise the issue of Aung San Suu Kyi's imprisonment — despite Min Aung Hlaing's April 23 signal to Thailand's FM that he was 'considering good things' for her — maintaining China's consistent prioritization of regime stability over human rights conditions. The Shan Herald Agency and resistance media condemned the visit as Beijing's active endorsement of Myanmar's cosmetic political transition, noting that China has simultaneously supplied the SAC with armed drones, jet aircraft components, and diplomatic cover at the UN Security Council.