Myanmar's Suu Kyi to visit China

China will host Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi even as global criticism continues to mount against her and the Myamarese Government of their handling of the Rohingya refugee crisis.

China is among the few nations that has supported Myanmar's counter-insurgency operation in northern Rakhine state, and even vetoed a resolution on the crisis at the UN Security Council. It has termed the security operation in that country has legitimate.

The state-run daily Global New Light of Myanmar said Suu Kyi would 'soon' depart to attend a Communist Party of China-hosted forum of world political leaders in Beijing. Last week Myanmar's powerful army chief Min Aung Hlaing visited Beijing and pledged closer cooperation between the two countries.

Myanmar is in the international spotlight this week as Pope Francis makes the first visit by a head of the Roman Catholic church to the Buddhist-majority country.

He has previously spoken out about the treatment of minority Muslims to whom Myanmar denies citizenship, but some

Many in Myanmar refuse to recognise the name Rohingya, preferring to call them 'Bengalis' to suggest they belong in neighbouring Bangladesh.