This has a brief history of the most powerful ethnic armies in Burma today and is a must read for anyone with interest in the conflicts in Burma.
An educated guess is that China, once again — and with more pressure on all sides in the conflict than was the case under its previous, failed attempts to act as a peacemaker — will step in and negotiate a ceasefire. But that would only lead to maintaining the status quo with possibly some alterations and modifications. Not any way forward towards a democratic Myanmar, which is what most people in the country would like to see.
Does China see a unified and democratic Myanmar as a desirable outcome? Or something to be avoided?
China actually liked working with the previous civilian regime. Suu Kyi was smart enough to cultivate that relationship. Chinese don’t care what government runs Burma, as long as their influence remains strong, and they achieve their strategic objectives. In the last election in 2019 Chinese were actually caught funding a political party to the tune of millions of dollars, essentially trying to buy seats in the parliament. Alas, that party was caught and its candidates were disqualified just prior to the elections.