Suu Kyi to make first China trip next week

Myanmar's opposition leader and democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi will visit China for the first time next week, Beijing and her party said yesterday, at a time of cooling relations between the once closely-bonded nations.

Beijing was a key backer of Myanmar's military junta while it was under Western sanctions, but conflict in a border area as well as fears over resource-grabbing by China have chilled ties.