A senior National League for Democracy (NLD) party official has confirmed that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will visit China for the first time in December.
Speaking to DVB by telephone on Wednesday, NLD Central Executive Committee member Win Htein said, “Aung San Suu Kyi will travel to China in December, that’s all I can say, so far.”
The news of Suu Kyi’s trip was initially revealed by Ai Ping, China’s deputy foreign affairs minister and a member of the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) powerful central committee.
Ai Ping visited NLD headquarters on 26 February for a meeting with two party leaders during which they agreed to enhance relations between the NLD and the CPC.
China’s Ambassador to Burma, Yang Houlan, also mentioned during an interview with the Sunday Morning Post in January that China would officially invite Suu Kyi for a visit.
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Although the NLD leader was an outspoken critic of the Myitsone dam project, China has put on a charm offensive for the NLD in the past couple of years. An official NLD delegation visited China in December 2013, but Suu Kyi did not join the group. She did, however, indicate a desire to visit China during a trip to South Korea last year.
Meanwhile, President Thein Sein’s office announced on Wednesday that Thein Sein will visit Beijing next week to attend a “Dialogue on Strengthening Connectivity Partnership” and the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) CEO Summit.