Aung San Suu Kyi’s first trip to Beijing is not quite a historic piece of Nixon-to-China diplomacy. But it is a fresh sign of the former political prisoner’s pragmatic preparations for power – and a symbol of the interests she shares with the Middle Kingdom’s rulers at a rocky point in Sino-Myanmar relations.

-snip-

“This trip fills in a blank for both sides,” said Yun Sun, a senior associate at Washington’s Stimson Center think-tank. “If Aung San Suu Kyi were not to visit China, it would leave a spot on her credentials. And if you are China, you want to have at least a superficially good relationship with the potential future kingmaker of Myanmar.”

To read the full article click here.