8月17日至21日，緬甸國務資政昂山素季女士訪華。昂山素季同時身兼緬甸執政黨民盟主席、總統府部長、外長、民族和解與和平中心主席，是緬甸核心政要之一。這是她出任民盟政府職務後首次出訪東盟之外的國家，顯示其高度重視對華關係。

中國國務院總理李克強18日下午在人民大會堂北大廳舉行了歡迎昂山素季的儀式。雙方在會談中一致同意，本着和平共處五項原則精神，堅持相互尊重，鞏固政治互信，加強交流合作，推動中緬關係在新時期取得更大發展。

隨着昂山素季訪華，緬甸與中美兩個大國的關係近期愈發成為輿論焦點。緬甸是東南亞國土面積第二大國家，資源豐富，被譽為“坐在聚寶盆的國家”。同時它地緣位置重要，連接印度和中國兩個大國，是連接東南亞和南亞的陸地樞紐國家，歷來是大國爭相拉攏甚至是激烈博弈之地。西方有媒體此前猜測和熱議“昂山素季是先訪華，還是先訪美”，似乎要以此判定緬甸外交是偏向哪個大國。也說明西方有些媒體對昂山素季的訪華高度關注。

其實，緬甸與美國的關係，也是中國輿論關注的議題之一。緬甸民主轉型以來，緬甸外交徹底擺脫前軍政府時期被美歐等西方世界制裁20多年的孤立困境，與美歐關係迅速熱絡起來。美歐日在緬甸的勢力和影響力迅速拓展，而西方大國在緬甸拓展影響力的目標之一是利用緬甸制衡快速發展的中國，壓縮中國在緬甸和湄公河流域的外交空間。這是美國在亞太地區推進有着很強的制衡中國目的的“亞太再平衡戰略”的重要一環：在東北亞利用朝核問題部署“薩德”以更有力地監控中國，利用日本和東海問題壓制中國；在東南亞利用南海問題攪亂中國南大門，利用發展與緬甸、越南等湄公河流域下游國家關係從西南陸地方向制衡中國，推進實施“湄公河下遊行動倡議”就是要將湄公河流域從美國制衡中國的薄弱地帶變成前沿地帶之一。

美國視緬甸為制約中國的與東盟戰略合作、孟中印緬經濟走廊、“一帶一路”等外交合作倡議的可利用國家之一。美國一些非政府組織長期故意給中國找茬，故意炒作中國投資項目對緬甸民眾、社會、經濟、生態的負面影響，忽視其正面效應，煽動緬甸民眾抗議中緬合作大項目，是導致中緬多個大項目出問題的原因之一。

美國企圖利用緬甸制衡中國的行為，在緬甸搞妨礙中緬關係發展的小動作，不僅會讓緬甸不舒服，會損害中國利益，也對美國沒有多少好處。緬甸外交傳統原則是“獨立自主和中立主義”，不會在中美間選邊站隊。昂山素季出任外長後表示，緬甸要發展與所有國家的友好關係。緬甸民盟政府面臨著艱巨的穩定和發展任務，需要建立與所有大國搞好關係的良性互動格局。緬甸既需要與中國這個最大鄰國搞好關係，搭乘中國快速發展的便車，也需要美國這個超級大國的鼎力支持。緬甸需要充分利用地緣優勢和大國資源，成為連接多個大國、連接東南亞和南亞、開放貫通的地區生產、物流與貿易中心，再現昔日中南半島強國的風采。

昂山素季出任外長後表示，緬甸要發展與所有國家的友好關係。

中國是緬甸最大外資來源國，截至今年7月底，中國（含香港）對緬協議投資總額約254億美元，占緬甸吸引外資總額的近40%，是美國、歐盟、日本等對緬投資額之和的約3.5倍。同時，緬甸民主轉型基本仿效美歐政治體制，其議會、政府、政黨的運作需要學習西方經驗，緬甸的政治改革、經濟社會改革獲得美國等西方國家專家、組織的智力支持，緬甸產品出口美國市場獲其“貿易普惠制”待遇。

中國提出的“瀾滄江-湄公河合作機制”、“一帶一路”等區域合作倡議，均是開放性的，需要並歡迎緬甸和美國的參與。中國不想與美國在緬甸和東南亞發生激烈戰略碰撞。大家好才是真的好，而美國如果在緬甸搞更多針對中國的不友好舉措，最終也會招致緬甸和中國反感，其在東南亞和印度洋沿岸戰略利益的拓展也會不順。其實，緬中美在國家利益上存在一個最大公約數：合作推動緬甸民主轉型與穩定發展，把三國合作的“蛋糕”做大，最終每個國家從三邊友好合作收益中所能分割的利益就會更多。因此，三方應協商如何規避美中在緬甸可能發生的戰略“衝撞”，形成三方良性互動與共同合作的格局，尋找在緬甸的投資與民生合作項目，形成發展利益共享、合作風險共擔的局面。合力推動緬甸經濟發展與民生改善，具有迫切性，也是符合三國和地區利益的合作方向。

From August 17 to 21, Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi visited China, which was also her maiden visit to a non-ASEAN country since she became State Counselor, and a testament of the importance attached to China-Myanmar relations. The visit carried extra significance as Aung San Suu Kyi also serves as Minister of President's Office, Foreign Minister and President of the National Reconciliation and Peace Centre. Premier Li Keqiang hosted a welcoming ceremony in her honor at the Great Hall of the People on the afternoon of Aug 18. In the meeting that followed, both sides agreed to work together to cement political mutual trust, strengthen communication and cooperation, guided by the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence and mutual respect, in order to take China-Myanmar relations to a new height.

Myanmar is the second–largest country in Southeast Asia, and is known as the Golden Land because of her natural endowments and resources. Bordering China and India, Myanmar is an important junction linking Southeast and South Asia, hence occupying a critical geopolitical location that is caught at the center of political wrangling between foreign powers. Western media have discussed and speculated over Aung San Suu Kyi 's first overseas destination, whether it would be the United States or China, in order to get a sense of her foreign policy priority. To some degree, the discussion itself spoke to the attention Aung San Suu Kyi 's visit to China would attract.

Myanmar's relationship with the United States is closely watched by Chinese media. Since Myanmar's democratic transition, the country is gradually shaking off the isolation and sanctions posed by Western countries when it was under junta rule. Engagement with the West is gaining traction. Consequently, the United States, the EU and Japan see their influence in Myanmar surging, and one of the goals of the Western powers is to leverage their influence over Myanmar to contain the development of China, and squeeze the diplomatic space of China in the Mekong River region. It fits into US' pivot to Asia strategy, which hosts overarching components. In Asia's northeast, the deployment of the THAAD system as an apparent countermeasure to North Korea's nuclear activity would also serve to monitor China's defense system. In the east and southeast, the East China Sea and South China Sea issues have been simmering, in which the US play no small part, posing a security threat at China's doorstep. While in the southwest, the United States have been working intensively to cultivate relations with Myanmar, Vietnam and other lower Mekong River countries, as a counter measure against China's growing presence in the region. Furthermore, the United States launched the Lower Mekong River initiative as part of the effort to cement US clout in the Mekong River region against that of China.

China has been party to many cooperation initiatives, such as the China ASEAN strategic cooperation, Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor, and the Belt & Road initiative. The United States sees Myanmar as a lever to throw spanners into China's works. It is no news that NGOs based in the US have been casting China-invested projects in a negative light, claiming these projects would result in adverse environmental and social impacts, in utter disregard of the benefits these projects generate for the local community. Their distorted narration fuels resistance towards Chinese projects and has even derailed several major projects.

In its attempt to counterbalance China, the United States resorts to backdoor means to disrupt China-Myanmar relations. This not only jeopardize China's interests, but also puts Myanmar on the spot, and it is questionable how much the US could gain from it. Myanmar upholds a foreign policy of independence and neutrality, and therefore will not take sides between China and the United States. In her capacity as foreign minister, Aung San Suu Kyi said that the country seeks friendship and cooperation with all countries. The NLD-led government has a twin task — to deliver stability and development for Myanmar, and to foster good relations with major countries.

Myanmar needs to build good neighborly relations with China, and ride on the train of China's fast development, and in the meanwhile, it cannot go without the support of the US, which is the sole superpower in the world. To spell it out, Myanmar needs to tap into its geopolitical positon and proximity to major powers in Asia, establish itself as a manufacturing, logistics and trade hub linking Southeast and South Asia, setting the stage for restoring its former glory as a major country straddling Central and South Asia.

In her capacity as foreign minister, Aung San Suu Kyi said that the country seeks friendship and cooperation with all countries.

Crunching a few numbers will make the case clearer. China is the largest source of FDI, with investment agreements worth $25.4 billion signed between China (Hong Kong included) and Myanmar in the first 7 months of the year, accounting for 40% of the total FDI to Myanmar, and 3.5 times the combined FDI from the US, EU and Japan. In terms of developing its political institutions, Myanmar models its democratic transition after the political systems in the US and Europe, and therefore need to emulate and learn from Western experiences in running the administrative government, parliament and political parties. What's more, Myanmar has drawn from the expertise and counsel from Western countries, and is on the list of US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which provides duty-free treatment to goods of designated beneficiary countries.

Regional cooperation initiatives, such as the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation initiative and the Belt and Road initiative proposed by China, are invariably open-ended, including to Myanmar and the United States, and by no means would China want to engage in strategic confrontation with the United States over Myanmar in Southeast Asia. What China seeks is common development and shared benefits. Having said that, should the United States resort to unfriendly acts against China, a backlash will result in China and Myanmar alike, consequently derailing Washington's own strategies in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean region. Alternatively, the United States, China and Myanmar can work together by building on their aligned and shared interests, and work towards win-win outcomes through trilateral cooperation. It is imperative that the three countries identify areas of cooperation in Myanmar, such as investment and public service projects, and foster a viable cooperation mechanism where interests are shared, risks are distributed. That will contribute to the economic prosperity of Myanmar and the well-being of its people, and meet the interests of the three countries and the region at large.