Myanmar general in China

YANGON:

The Myanmar junta’s second-in-command arrived in China on Saturday for an official visit, the junta’s information team said, as clashes with ethnic minority fighters raged in the north of the country despite a Beijing-brokered ceasefire.

Vice-senior General Soe Win arrived in Qingdao in Shandong province where he will attend a “Green Development Forum” hosted by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the junta’s information office said in a statement.

Ties between the junta and Beijing - a major ally and arms supplier - frayed last year over the junta’s failure to crack down on online scam compounds in Myanmar’s borderlands.

The compounds were staffed by citizens of China and other countries who were often trafficked and forced to work swindling their compatriots in an industry analysts say is worth billions.