"Myanmar has crafted a neutral foreign policy since its colonial years to avoid leaning too much on any foreign power, but a spiraling political crisis at home is pushing it toward China as a buffer against international outrage. Western leaders say the poor but quickly developing Southeast Asian country is trying to wipe out Muslim Rohingya people near its border with Bangladesh. Myanmar’s state counselor, Aung San Suu Kyi, met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss the issue days before going before the International Court of Justice on December 11. Myanmar faces charges of genocide against the mainly Muslim Rohingya minority group in Rakhine state. China had backed Myanmar in the U.N. Security Council when a military junta ruled the country before 2011. China is grappling with international criticism over perceived repression of ethnic Uighur people who oppose living under Beijing’s rule..."