Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi continued his charm offensive on Monday with his first tour of Asia for the year, starting with an official visit to Myanmar, ahead of an expected policy shift from Washington towards the region under president-elect Joe Biden.

Wang, who also serves on China’s cabinet, the State Council, had just returned from a six-day tour of Africa, in which he visited five countries and pledged to strengthen cooperation in everything from health and agriculture to military and infrastructure.

His latest tour coincides with the final countdown for Donald Trump’s presidency, as the US continues to reel from the storming last week of the US Capitol, and just days ahead of Biden’s swearing-in as president.

There has been widespread speculation in Asia that Biden will prioritise the rebuilding of its alliance network in the region to counter China’s growing influence. Under the Trump administration, Washington and Beijing have been locked in a bitter geopolitical conflict on numerous fronts – including the South China Sea and Taiwan.

According to China’s foreign ministry, Wang’s six-day mission in the region will include official visits to Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines, as well as Myanmar capital Naypyidaw, where he is due to arrive on Monday.

While Beijing did not reveal details of Wang’s visit, Myanmar news portal The Irrawaddy, quoting senior officials with Myanmar’s foreign ministry, said it would be seen as a move to show support for the country’s National League for Democracy-led government, which is soon to embark on its second term.

The news website said Wang – the first foreign minister to visit Myanmar since its elections in November – would also be pushing Naypyidaw to speed up construction of projects under the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.

During Xi’s visit to Myanmar last January, the two sides signed 33 memorandums of understanding, agreements, exchange letters and protocols, of which 13 were related to infrastructure – most notably, the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone along the Bay of Bengal coast.

There has been little tangible progress since then, partly because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and local authorities said the projects would be implemented after their commercial viability had been verified in line with Myanmar’s development plan.

However, in one breakthrough, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on Sunday for a feasibility study of a railway linking Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, with Kyaukpyu, its major town in the western state of Rakhine, according to the Chinese embassy in Myanmar.

On Sunday, the Philippines’ foreign affairs department said key areas – including “trade and investments, infrastructure development and addressing the pandemic” – would be high on the agenda for Wang’s two-day visit to Manila on Friday and Saturday.

—-By Laura Zhou in SCMP online, Jan 11, 2021
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3117174/china-moves-charm-asia-ahead-biden-presidency