"Sign up for Next China, a weekly email on where the nation stands now and where it's going next. In China’s carefully choreographed diplomatic calendar, the itinerary of the president’s first overseas trip can send signals about his long-term strategic goals. In 2017, Xi Jinping opened with a speech at the World Economic Forum defending globalization from criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump. A year earlier, he became the first major world leader to visit Iran after international sanctions were lifted. This year, Xi’s first state visit will be to conflict-torn Myanmar. While the European Union and the U.S. have criticized Myanmar for what the United Nations has called genocidal acts against its minority Rohingya population, China, which often faces scrutiny over its own human rights record, is continuing its role as a vocal supporter. Upon his arrival to the capital of Naypyidaw on Friday, Xi will meet with de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who last month defended Myanmar at the International Court of Justice in the Hague over accusations the country’s military had committed atrocities with “genocidal intent,” forcing more than 700,000 ethnic Muslims to flee across the Bangladesh border. Suu Kyi rejected the case brought by the Gambia as “incomplete and misleading” and said the exodus of civilians was caused by an ongoing internal armed conflict with insurgents..."