Myanmar Coup Leader Bets on Beijing’s Global Initiatives to Secure New Regime

By signing memoranda of understanding on all four of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Global Initiatives, regime leader Min Aung Hlaing has signaled full partnership with Beijing to secure his autocratic grip on Myanmar, experts say.

The coup leader turned president signed MoUs on Beijing’s Global Security Initiative (GSI), Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), and Global Governance Initiative (GGI) during his visit to China last month.

His spokeswoman Khaing Khaing Soe told a press conference that while other countries have signed MoUs on just one or two of the initiatives, Myanmar is alone in committing to all four.

China portrays the initiatives as having the “international public good” at heart. Critics, however, argue the framework operates to legitimize authoritarian regimes under the guise of non‑interference, channelling development aid to extend Beijing’s reach while weakening western leadership and reshaping global institutions.

Jason Tower, an expert on regional security issues and transnational crime, said Min Aung Hlaing’s commitments to the GSI and other key Chinese initiatives send a clear signal of his full strategic alignment with the foreign power central to his plans for establishing autocratic dominance.

China stepped in as the regime’s main savior—politically, financially and militarily—after the international community shunned the junta for war crimes against its own people following the 2021 coup.

Beijing’s support for Min Aung Hlaing’s fragile regime picked up dramatically in 2025, when it successfully pressured the powerful United Wa State Army and other traditionally neutral ethnic armed organizations to cut off arms and supplies to Myanmar resistance groups.

“In this regard, China’s continued support has become existential for Min Aung Hlaing in terms of his hopes of consolidating a position at the apex of power and influence in the country,” said Tower, senior expert at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.

In exchange for this wide-ranging support, the regime has pledged to crack down on border security, accelerate Myanmar projects under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and safeguard Chinese personnel.

Focus on GSI

Among all four initiatives, the GSI has received most attention from both countries. In a joint statement, they committed to strengthen “security cooperation for the construction of the Belt and Road projects” in Myanmar—many of which now lie in conflict zones.

Proposed by President Xi in April 2022 as an alternative to the Western global security model, the GSI is a core pillar of China’s modern diplomacy. The framework emphasizes “state sovereignty,” “non-interference,” and “peaceful resolution of international disputes.”

Myanmar’s military rulers rushed to endorse the GSI as early as 2023, eager for a shield against international sanctions imposed for its bloody post-coup crackdown.

China maintained its support by backing the junta’s December-January election and endorsing the coup leader’s resulting regime, despite a process widely denounced as a sham for excluding main opposition parties.

“At present, it is clear that Min Aung Hlaing is benefiting significantly from the pledges he is making around GSI, as China has showered him with unprecedented levels of legitimacy,” Tower said.

More Security Cooperation?

Observers note that the joint pledge to strengthen security for BRI projects signals an institutionalization of “boots on the ground” cooperation between Myanmar and China.

In February 2025, the junta promulgated the Private Security Services Law, granting Chinese security firms entry to protect BRI projects and personnel across the country.

That framework was reinforced by a joint venture security company agreed in October 2024.

According to the joint statement, security cooperation will extend to the already militarized China–Myanmar oil and gas pipelines stretching 800 km from Kyaukpyu in Rakhine State through Mandalay, Magwe, and northern Shan State to Yunnan Province.

Bertil Lintner, a veteran journalist covering Myanmar and Asia, told The Irrawaddy that Min Aung Hlaing’s commitment to the GSI paves the way for Chinese private security firms to flood into the country.

“Today, there are not many [Chinese security firms in Myanmar] but with these new agreements I believe we can expect more of them,” he said.