Chinese desire to scale up its presence in the Bay of Bengal and also tap into the economy as well as natural resources of an important neighbour was on full display during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Myanmar on January 17-18, 2020. Among others, President Xi Jinping’s visit included meetings with Myanmar President Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and Commander-in-Chief General Min Aung Hlaing. The visit concluded with the signing of 33 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs), Agreements, Protocols and Exchanges. This was the first visit by a Chinese President in 19 years, the last being Jiang Zemin in December 2001.
