Myanmar (MNN) – Have Myanmar’s military rulers found a powerful friend?

Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing is visiting China this week on a state visit, receiving a formal welcome from President Xi Jinping.

The trip offers more than diplomatic pageantry. For the junta government in Myanmar – which still faces international pushback to its legitimacy – the optics matter.

Beijing skyline (Photo courtesy of zhang kaiyv/Unsplash)

Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says, “The fact that the leader of this is now on a state visit to China and being welcomed with open arms, meeting with Xi Jinping really shows at least that the Chinese government is willing to accept the results of that election.”

Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021, overthrowing the country’s elected government. Although the junta later held elections, many countries rejected the results after opposition candidates were barred from participating.

Now, Nettleton says, “They (Chinese officials) are willing to do business with the [junta] military leaders, and that gives them a certain amount of legitimacy in the eyes of the world. I’m certainly fairly confident they will spend that at home as, ‘Look! We are the legitimate leaders. Even China recognizes it.’

“There [are] still a lot of questions about the election. There [are] still a lot of movements against the military leaders and against the current government.”

A street in Myanmar. (Photo courtesy of Ajay Karpur/Unsplash)

At home in Myanmar, people are feeling the pressure – especially Christians

“There’s a lot of difficulty in Myanmar economically, even [with] electricity,” says Nettleton. “There’s just so much challenge right now in the country, even living day to day.

“Then, when you add on, ‘Hey, I’m a follower of Jesus Christ,’ that can put a target on you as well. So it’s a difficult place to be a follower of Jesus, and the military junta is not making it easier. In fact, they’re trying to make it more difficult.”

As China strengthens ties with the junta, believers can stand with the Church in Myanmar through prayer.

Nettleton asks, “Pray for protection, especially for Christians [and] minority tribal peoples. I also think pray for the leaders of the Church. It’s difficult to be a pastor all the time, but then when you put it in a situation of persecution and…upheaval within a country, that adds layers of difficulty to the challenge, and so pray for the church leaders in Myanmar.”

Header photo: Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s junta leader. (Photo courtesy of Zawzawaungthwin – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=188626057)