China-Burma relations
Websites/Multiple Documents
Source/publisher:
China Daily
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
"Inside China Today"
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Description:
Search for "Myanmar". 337 hits (February 2005)...3191 hits (January 2009)...3944 hits (October 2009)...4930 (January 2015)...5656 hits (August 2017)...16,200 results for a Google site-specific search (August 2017)
Source/publisher:
"People?s Daily"
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, News - Burma/Myanmar news sources in English (current sites), News - International sources
Language:
English
more
Description:
About 1,050,000 results (August 2017)
Source/publisher:
Various sources via Youtube
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-22
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
more
Description:
About 562,000 results (January 2018)
Source/publisher:
www via Google
Date of entry/update:
2018-01-23
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
more
Description:
23,000 results, June 2017
Source/publisher:
"China Daily" via Google
Date of entry/update:
2017-06-07
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Description:
3390 results (June 2017)
Source/publisher:
"Global Times" via Google
Date of entry/update:
2017-06-06
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Description:
About 2,420 resultsresults (June 2017)
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" via Google
Date of entry/update:
2011-05-30
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Description:
About 512,000 results (September 2017)
Source/publisher:
Google
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-03
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Welcome to my Site !
Let me introduce myself. As a French researcher in International Relations, I have been working for the last 7 years on geopolitics in Asia, with a special focus on India and Burma (Myanmar).
In December 2006, I successfully defended my Ph.D Dissertation (Political Science, Asian Studies) at the Institute of Political Science, Paris, France : "India, China and the Burmese Issue : Sino-Indian Rivalry through Burma/Myanmar and its Limits since 1988" (with distinction).
You will find in this website a glimpse of the works I have done so far on those issues (articles, publications, fieldworks) as well as some links and contacts which could be of interest on these matters. Enjoy the visit "...
Dr. Renaud EGRETEAU
Source/publisher:
Renaud Egreteau
Date of entry/update:
2007-06-27
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
Francais, French, English
more
Individual Documents
Description:
"Amid the worsening domestic COVID-19 situation, Myanmar’s election in November 2020 brought a landslide victory for the National League for Democracy (NLD) under the leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi. Despite voting restrictions in parts of Rakhine and Shan states, the election was overall a step in the right direction, and the NLD increased its majority in the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house) and Amyotha Hluttaw (upper house). The show of support at the ballot box for the NLD indicates the domestic popularity of Aung San Suu Kyi. Her defence of Myanmar’s handling of the Rohingya crisis at the International Court of Justice — and in many other international venues — was dubbed a betrayal of democracy and human rights by Western media, but it boosted her domestic aura as a defender of Myanmar.
The priorities for the NLD government are no doubt domestic. The COVID-19 pandemic ransacked Myanmar’s economy and the domestic poverty rate skyrocketed. High on the government’s agenda is creating employment for millions of Myanmar workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic.
The country still faces one of the worst humanitarian crises with the Rohingya issue which battered its international image and led to economic sanctions. Myanmar’s domestic peace process has also stalled and militarised conflicts in the north of the country have no end in sight.
To deal with these issues, China is the most indispensable country for Aung San Suu Kyi and her government. As one of the manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines and with a promise to contribute to the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries, Myanmar needs to work with China to vaccinate its population. Vaccine diplomacy was high on the agenda during a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Myanmar in early January 2021, despite Naypyidaw making the first order of 30 million doses from India.
As the largest trading partner and second largest FDI source for Myanmar, the continued economic growth and opening up of the Chinese market will also have positive reverberations. Although Myanmar society overall holds anti-Chinese sentiments, Aung San Suu Kyi’s government still sees the benefits of engaging in close economic cooperation with China. Initiatives such as the China–Myanmar Economic Corridor aim to further connect the two economies.
With the recent signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Myanmar is also set to benefit from further relaxing of trade restrictions among its major trading partners. The government is optimistic that participating in RCEP will help Myanmar gain access to a large market for its exports, and that there will also be opportunities for responsible, high-quality investment inflows.
While Myanmar faces tremendous pressure from the West on the Rohingya issue, Myanmar’s Asian neighbours are hesitant to jump on the bandwagon. Only Malaysia and Indonesia — as the two Muslim-majority countries in ASEAN — have been more vocal.
China is Myanmar’s strongest supporter on the Rohingya issue and is actively involved in facilitating negotiations between the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh. The protection China offers to Myanmar at international institutions is crucial. A quid pro quo is evident between the two countries with Myanmar offering support for China at the United Nations on Xinjiang and Hong Kong. This cooperative relationship will likely continue as both face similar pressure from the West..."
Source/publisher:
"East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication:
2021-01-23
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
more
Description:
"China promised to continue to support Myanmar’s peace talks with ethnic minority groups and to boost its coronavirus aid on the first stop of the foreign minister’s six-day tour of Southeast Asia.
During Monday’s meetings with President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Wang Yi also urged Myanmar to speed up construction work on the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor – a key element of the country’s Belt and Road Initiative.
“China will support the new Myanmar government in revitalising the economy, improving people’s livelihoods and accelerating the industrialisation process. We hope that both sides will work together to effectively implement the agreement on building the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor and promote connectivity at the western, northern and eastern ends of the corridor,” Wang told the president, according to a report by state news agency Xinhua.
China shares more than 2,100km (1,300 miles) of border with Myanmar’s north, an area that has long been troubled by the fighting between government and ethnic minority rebel groups, making China a crucial player in peace talks between the government armies and ethnic armed groups. Wang said Beijing would do whatever it could to support the peace negotiations, adding: “China supports Myanmar government’s commitment to national reconciliation in the country … and will continue to provide assistance within its capabilities, as well as upholding justice and safeguarding Myanmar’s legitimate rights and interests in the international arena.”
In response, Win Myint told Wang that Myanmar was keen to cooperate with China on vaccine distribution and would continue to support Beijing’s positions on Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang, according to Xinhua..."
Source/publisher:
"South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2021-01-12
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Armed conflict and peace-building in Burma - theoretical, strategic and general, Burma's economic relations with China, “One Belt, One Road” initiative, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Infrastructure is high on China’s agenda in Myanmar, but it is also making headway in other important sectors.
Description:
"A year after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first state visit to Myanmar, Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to arrive in the capital Naypyidaw today for a two-day official visit. The trip to Myanmar follows an African tour that has taken Wang to Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, Tanzania, and the Seychelles. The agenda of his Myanmar trip is yet to be confirmed, but the ongoing progress of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), along with COVID-19 diplomacy, is very likely to be high on the list.
First signed between China and Myanmar in 2018, the CMEC envisions the construction of a network of railways, roads, ports, and new cities running overland from China’s Yunnan province to the sea. Although numerous memorandum of agreements related to CMEC and Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have been in place for years, progress has lagged considerably. Indeed, progress on the CMEC seems to have been slowed further by Beijing’s pandemic-induced belt-tightening and the unprofitable nature of many of the infrastructure projects that fell under its aegis. This had prompted Beijing to adopt an alternative model of engagement in Myanmar: one that is more economically feasible, and that leverages its strategic assets, innovation, and technology to expand its sphere of influence, rather than focusing on infrastructure alone.
This is consistent with China’s recently announced Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), which signaled a significant shift in China’s economic and development strategy toward increased domestic consumption. This shift has been prompted by its trade tensions with the United States and the opportunities and challenges offered by a post-COVID-19-world. This re-calibration may impact Beijing’s ability to realize the CMEC as it is currently envisioned..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2021-01-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with China, “One Belt, One Road” initiative, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Beijing will "pressingly" deliver COVID-19 vaccines to Myanmar to help its Asian neighbor control the pandemic, according to Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday.
Just on Sunday alone, Myanmar's Ministry of Health and Sports reported 555 more COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally to 130,604.
"I believe the friendship between China and Myanmar will deepen further through test of the COVID-19 pandemic," Wang told Myanmar President U Win Myint in Nay Pyi Taw, capital of Myanmar. The Chinese diplomat has just embarked on his six-day Southeast Asia tour, just a day after his Africa visit.
On his part, the Myanmar president first spoke highly of the relationship between the two countries. "Although in time of a global pandemic, [Wang] still came visit as one of the first [diplomats]," he said.
He also vowed to deepen the ties and is willing to cooperate with Beijing in sectors including COVID-19 vaccine, culture and tourism..."
Source/publisher:
CGTN (China)
Date of publication:
2021-01-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Steady Continued cooperation on regional integration between China and Myanmar gave a sharp contrast to India, which turned a blind eye toward such development trend and let go opportunties, a Chinese analyst said on Monday.
The comments came after China and Myanmar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Sunday to conduct feasibility study of a 650-kilometer-long railway linking Mandalay, the country's second largest city in Myanmar's central region, with Kyaukphyu, the major town in Myanmar's Rakhine state.
Zhao Gancheng, director of the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times that the signing of the MoU is an important step toward a very significant project under the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor and part of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative.
When the concept of the corridor was first introduced in 2013, India was initially involved in the regional integration project, only to withdraw further into the process.
The continued development of the Mandalay-Kyaukphyu railway shows that regional integration is moving forward even as India, which could play a major part in the program, has chosen not to participate, Zhao said..."
Source/publisher:
"Global Times" (China)
Date of publication:
2021-01-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to arrive in Myanmar on Monday on a critical two-day visit. It is intended to further strengthen Chinese influence in the country, in light of the changing international dynamics in the region, amid fears that China's sway is beginning to wane.
Beijing is increasingly concerned with a plethora of issues, including recent Indian and Japanese initiatives with Myanmar, which Beijing fears may prove to be to their detriment, but also to take stock of the continued economic cooperation, strengthen its support for the peace process and to boost China's support for Myanmar's battle to control the Covid pandemic. Mr Wang's primary purpose on this visit is to show China's unswerving support for the country and its civilian leader, the State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi -- and to congratulate the National League for Democracy (NLD) on its landslide electoral victory. He will be the first international diplomat to visit Nay Pyi Taw in person since the elections last November.
The visit seems to have been arranged at short notice -- and tagged onto Mr Wang's current trip to Africa. It is low-key and being handled discreetly, according to Myanmar government sources. Foreign diplomats believe this may reflect some discomfort on the part of Nay Pyi Taw at the visit, and what is seen as "vaccine diplomacy"..."
Source/publisher:
Bangkok Post (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-01-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with China, Other Special Economic Zones, China-Burma relations, “One Belt, One Road” initiative, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
A long-running war and COVID-19 muddle development in Kyaukphyu, Myanmar.
Description:
"Kyi Kyi Hnin sits beneath a fan on a bright morning in her village along the coast of Kyaukphyu, a township in Myanmar’s Rakhine State on the edge of the Indian Ocean.
“The government just signs laws, but they are committing violations,” she says. “The government should consider the communities’ desires and interests.”
Kyi Kyi Hnin is a local community organizer and her speech is quick and resolute: She knows the challenges facing Kyaukphyu and spends her days working to support local residents. Kyaukphyu is home to a cluster of busy fishing towns and villages. But in the past few years, the township has been thrown into the center of geopolitics, armed conflict and, more recently, Myanmar’s struggle against COVID-19.
For months, the country recorded relatively few cases of the virus, until a new outbreak began in August with Rakhine at the epicenter. After the state capital, Sittwe, Kyaukphyu has recorded the most cases of any township in Rakhine for much of the outbreak..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2020-12-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Other Special Economic Zones, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
more
Description:
"The Union government has unbundled a controversial Chinese-backed multibillion-dollar new city project across the Yangon River from Myanmar’s commercial hub and is finalizing the hiring of an international consultant to assist in the selection of a developer for the newly compartmentalized project.
Known as the New Yangon City project, it is an element of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), which is a part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The CMEC will connect Yunnan province in China to Mandalay in central Myanmar, Yangon New City in the south and the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone in the west.
The Yangon regional government-backed New Yangon Development Company (NYDC) initially signed a US$1.5-billion (2.03-trillion-kyat) framework agreement in 2018 with Beijing-based China Communications Construction Company, Ltd. (CCCC) to draw up a proposal for the infrastructure project. The 20,000-acre (nearly 8,100-hectare) New Yangon City project is slated to include five resettlement areas, two bridges, an industrial estate, and commercial and residential areas as well as related infrastructure. The Yangon government’s 2019 guidebook listing the city’s projects—the Yangon Project Bank— estimates the New Yangon City project’s total cost at $8 billion.
However, the project has been a source of controversy due to its flood-prone location as well as CCCC’s involvement. The Hong Kong-listed, Chinese state-owned company has been accused of engaging in corruption and bribery relating to development deals in at least 10 countries in Africa and Asia.
Since its formation, the NYDC has said that while CCCC was the frontrunner for the project, the selection process to find the developer would follow the so-called “Swiss Challenge” model, in which other candidate firms would be invited to beat CCCC’s bid. However, the huge amount of the initial investment required has all but deterred other investors.
On Wednesday, a senior official familiar with the project told The Irrawaddy that the $1.5-billion project has been unbundled by the Union government due to the sheer scale of the mega-investment required, making it possible for other companies to join the Swiss Challenge..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-07-29
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"The “Association of South-East Asian Nations” or “ASEAN” was formed from the ASEAN Declaration in Bangkok on 8th August 1967 (as a successor to the Association of South-East Asia, “ASA” in 1961), and is just four years younger than the EEC (now the EU). ASEAN is now a grouping of ten geographically, culturally and politically diverse countries, although initially consisted only of those countries which avoided any socialist experimentation: Singapore/Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia. Most of the Mekong countries joined later: Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
ASEAN has 651 million people and a land mass of 4.5 million sq kms (50% larger than India and one-half the size of China), and a nominal GDP of US$ 3 trillion (on a PPP basis 4x higher at $13 trillion) and US$ 4,600 nominal GDP per capita. By comparison, the EU has twenty-eight countries, 513 million people, and an almost identical land area of 4.48 million sq kms, but it has a nominal GDP that is 7X higher than ASEAN at US$ 19 trillion (or $23 trillion translating to just 2X on a PPP basis), and a US$ 37,300 nominal GDP per capita. The likelihood is that ASEAN will narrow the gap between its nominal and PPP GDP over the next few years, generating substantial gains for investors.
What is common to all ASEAN countries is the agricultural economic base (except for Singapore & Brunei) and their consequently more manageable workforces, their Chinese (mostly Fujian) diaspora business culture, and their Japanese/Taiwanese/Korean led industrial investment. The Mekong countries share a common Buddhist heritage, but are a mixture quasi-democratic, and factional 1-Party States.
The oldest cultures in ASEAN, the Mekong countries are the least developed, due to their proximity to China and its socialist sphere of influence from 1950-1980. That proximity is now a positive as China embarks on its “Belt & Road” initiative and its manufacturers rush to avoid rising labour costs and US/China trade friction, diversifying production to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. Currently the former closed countries, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, “continental ASEAN” or the old Indochina, are now leading ASEAN in growth from their lower economic bases, and after a temporary lapse in 2020, are all expected to be back to 6-7% growth rates in 2021..."
Source/publisher:
"The Asia First Newsletter''
Date of publication:
2020-07-10
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma's economic relations with China, ASEAN-Burma relations, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"In the meetings, President Xi focussed on three main projects under the Belt and Initiative and part of the CMEC (China-Myanmar Economic Corridor). These were the New Yangon Project, the Kyaukpyu Deep Sea Port with the SEZ (the latter only to sweeten the deal and keep the Myanmar side interested) and the China-Myanmar Border Cooperation Zone.
China in the mean time had already completed an oil pipeline project from Kunming to Kyaukpyu and also a gas pipe line between the two ports. The Gas pipe line was started in 2013 and the Oil Pipe line started functioning fro April 2017. The projects were rushed through despite local objections.
The Gas and Oil pipe lines together with the Kyaukpyu deep sea port are ostensibly meant to develop the south western hinterland of China, but the real reasons were strategic. The Port would help China avoid the vulnerable straits of Malacca. The ongoing spat with United States and the countries in the region looking for strategic alliances like India with Australia, the need for an alternate route for safety and security of supplies to the Chinese hinterland has become critical to China.
While the Chinese side initially pushed for a large project with an investment of over 7 Billion Dollars, the Myanmar side in its negotiations reduced the project to 1.3 billion and also increased Myanmar’s stake in the project to 30 percent. Even this amount is too big a sum for Myanmar and there were always fears that Myanmar by borrowing from Chinese Banks may get into a debt trap as it happened to Sri Lanka vis a vis Hambantota.
While the deep Sea Port will only help China and not Myanmar, the deal was sweetened with a parallel project of a special economic Zone for which the stakes for the two sides are yet to be finalised.
At that point of time, Myanmar was not aware of the possible spread of the deadly Virus unleashed by China. With the rapid spread of the Virus in other countries and the possibility of its economy being very adversely affected, Myanmar launched an Economy Relief Plan on April 27, 2020. It was an effort to meet the exigencies that surfaced in Myanmar after the Covid-19 (Wuhan Virus) was officially (though delayed) declared by WHO.
The Plan consisted of 7 objectives or Goals, 10 Strategies, 30 Action Plans, and 76 Actions. Without going into full details of all actions contemplated we shall restrict ourselves to the seven goals. These included..."
Source/publisher:
"Sri Lanka Guardian" (Sri Lankan)
Date of publication:
2020-06-29
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Other Special Economic Zones, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Artisans in Sagyin have carved out a living from marble for generations but some fear the dust that cloaks the village.
Description:
"The fine white dust that shrouds much of his northern Myanmar village also covers sculptor Chin Win as he leans over a half-finished Buddha statue.
"We are blessed to carve Buddha," he said at his stone workshop surrounded by the seven white hills that give Sagyin village its name, which means "marble" in Burmese.
For generations, artisans in this part of Buddhist-majority Myanmar have carved out a living from the marble, fashioning mostly colossal Buddha statues to be sold in the nearby city of Mandalay or exported to neighbouring China and Thailand.
Many of the several thousand villagers here earn a modest living from the marble mines, hauling the slabs down the hill, carving them into statues, or exporting them overseas.
Burmese marble, which ranges from pure white to bluish grey, is prized for its hardness and texture. A 45-tonne slab can sell for $40,000. In Sagyin, specks of the stone are used for everything from brushing teeth to washing clothes. "We grew up breathing the dust," said Chin Win, 35, who has been carving statues since he was 11 years old. "We use it as toothpaste, for soap powder, lipstick."
The stone used to be chiselled by hand. Now, much of the work is done with machines.
"I was born in this village and for generations, this is what we have done: the men work on marble carving and the women work in the marble mines or polish the marble statues," said 25-year-old Mya Lay, in a house fashioned from dry bamboo sheets, with a floor made of marble chippings..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2020-07-07
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with China, Burma's economic relations with Thailand, China-Burma relations, Thailand-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"The leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is the key to China's fast development and its increasingly important role in the world economy, a renowned Myanmar expert has said.
Under CPC's leadership, China has become the world's second largest economy and successfully transformed from a planned economy to a socialist market one, Monywa Aung Shin, member of the Central Committee of Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy and editor-in-chief of D-wave Journal, told Xinhua in a recent interview.
"As far as I see, China plays a growing role in the world economy and becomes a fastest growing country, thanks to the leadership of the party," said Aung Shin.
Highlighting the concerted efforts of the party's leadership and the Chinese people in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Aung Shin said he is in favor of the CPC's political practice, namely the "people-centered governance."
During the pandemic, the Chinese government has presented a prompt response and strenuous efforts by sending health personnel to the frontlines and building make-shift hospitals, said Aung Shin.
"As the people trusted and strictly followed the guidance of the government, the epidemic was contained in a short time, which portrayed the unity of the people," he said.
With the notion of "a community with a shared future," China shared its firsthand experience and provided medical assistance to neighboring countries during the pandemic, which makes the idea more meaningful, Aung Shin said.
Aung Shin also expressed his belief that China will achieve its goal of poverty elimination.
"Since poverty, somehow, relates to education, health, social development and employment opportunities, China has been making endeavors to fight for poverty eradication not only in China but also in its neighboring countries including Myanmar," the expert said..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-06-28
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
more
Topic:
Belt & Road Initiative, Shweli River
Sub-title:
The waters of the Shweli river in northeastern Myanmar have turned red, prompting concerns about pollution along a major corridor of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Residents and politicians blame Chinese factories upstream, raising questions about accountability for the impacts of cross-border development.
Topic:
Belt & Road Initiative, Shweli River
Description:
"Local reports say a river that forms part of the China-Myanmar border has turned red, prompting major concerns about pollution and accountability along a key trade route for China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) infrastructure and industry plan.
The Shan Herald reported that the Shweli river, on the border between Myanmar’s Shan State and China’s Yunnan province, changed color around June 10. Local residents suspect the change is due to factories upstream in China dumping waste into the river.
“We have never seen water color changes like this before. This is the first time I have ever seen the water red. I don’t know what China has done,” said local resident Sai Aye, who lives on the bank of the river in the border town of Muse.
The Chinese portion of the Shweli river, known as the Ruili river in Chinese and Nam Mao in indigenous Shan, is lined with factories that process sugar, paper, fish for canning and meat. The Shweli is a tributary of the Irrawaddy river, the largest river in Myanmar and the source of irrigation for much of the country’s agriculture.
“I think a factory in China dumped polluted water into the river. We have already sent an opposition letter to China’s external affairs department in Shweli [Ruili] city in Yunnan province,” Sai Kyaw Thein, a Shan State parliamentarian for Muse, told the Shan Herald. “We already sent a water sample from the Shweli river to a laboratory in Mandalay.”
Though the cause of the red color hasn’t been found, the possible pollution raises major questions about environmental regulations and accountability around the BRI in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"ASEAN Today" (Singapore)
Date of publication:
2020-06-25
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Police in southwest China's Yunnan Province cracked a drug trafficking case, apprehending eight suspects and seizing more than 166 kg of drugs, local authorities said Wednesday.
On May 21, local police nabbed the first six suspects in the city of Baoshan, situated along the China-Myanmar border. Later, two other suspects were caught.
Further investigation is underway.
Yunnan is a major front in China's battle against drug crime, as it borders the Golden Triangle known for its rampant drug production and trafficking..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-06-24
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The draft bill is a step in the right direction, but falls short on screening the export of fossil fuel technologies.
Description:
"In May, China’s energy authority announced a public consultation for a draft energy law, setting the agenda for “green, low-carbon” production and a “safe and efficient” energy system. The draft law, which has been 13 years in the making, is an omnibus bill that seeks to unify China’s diverse laws governing coal, renewables and energy conservation.
Five years after the signing of the Paris Agreement, references in the bill that position it as a “response to climate change” are welcome. Unfortunately, the proposed legislation also specifies the need for further exploration of fossil fuel energy sources such as coal, oil and natural gas.
This matters because under the Paris Agreement, China committed to peak carbon dioxide emissions around 2030 or earlier if possible. China is the largest public financer of fossil fuels, providing US$20.2 billion a year for oil and gas and US$4.4 billion for coal, according to a recent report on G20 financing.
China also ranks as the world’s largest producer and investor in clean energy and while coal still occupies the top spot in the country’s energy mix, its share is declining. However, the country’s effort to reduce emissions is being undermined by a relaxation of coal-power restrictions, which has led to approximately 10 gigawatts of new approvals at home and the financing of coal projects overseas..."
Source/publisher:
"Eco-Business" (Singapore)
Date of publication:
2020-06-23
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
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Sub-title:
A Chinese company is applying to conduct feasibility studies for a high-speed railway between Mandalay-Kyaukphyu, said U Nyi Nyi Swe, general manager of Myanma Railways.
Description:
"The railway is part of a larger railway project connecting Muse to Mandalay. A memorandum of understanding for the railway was signed between the Myanmar government and China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co Ltd (CREEG) on October 22, 2018.
“The Muse-Mandalay MoU includes applying for permission to conduct feasibility studies to build the railway from Mandalay to Kyaukphyu. The feasibility study takes two or three years,” U Nyi Nyi Swe said.
The Chinese want to connect Kyaukphyu in Rakhine, where they will be developing an industrial zone and deepsea port, with Kunming in China via the Muse border town by building Kunming-Muse-Kyaukphyu express railroad. The route will also connect Mandalay with Yangon.
U Ba Myint, managing director of Myanma Railways, said the project is expected to bring benefits in the form of increased border trade.
He said the 431-km Muse-Mandalay high-speed railroad project, which will be built for trains to run at speeds of up to 160 km per hour, will cost around US$8.9 billion to build.
The project is not expected to interfere with residents who live along the railway route, U Win Khant, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, said during a recent press conference..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-22
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"The strategically vital Mekong subregion has been gaining salience in Beijing’s strategic calculations as China faces growing pushback from the US and other countries. The global pandemic appears to be consolidating a few trends in China’s ties with the Mekong nations. In this emerging scenario, it is likely that China will keep its focus on the Mekong subregion in the post-COVID-19 period.
Cooperative partnerships with some countries have been further deepening, while China’s “mask diplomacy” has raised concern among citizens who want their governments to adopt a more cautious approach and there have been new factors that have been added to existing difficult relationships often viewed through the confrontational lens.
Apart from China-ASEAN cooperation in engaging with the Mekong subregion, Beijing has been using the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC)–––a subregional cooperation mechanism jointly established by Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam–––in engaging with the subregion in the fight against the global pandemic.
In February, Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Vientiane, Laos, to participate in the fifth LMC foreign ministers’ meeting where he called for “concerted efforts” to fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.
The global pandemic provided Cambodia and China to further consolidate their cooperative partnership. During Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to China in early February at a time when “anti-Chinese sentiments” were rising has been interpreted as demonstrating “solidarity” and China-Cambodia relations has described as “a model” for neighbourhood diplomacy..."
Source/publisher:
"Observer Research Foundation (ORF)" (India)
Date of publication:
2020-06-20
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, ASEAN-Burma relations, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"President Xi Jinping has called for efforts to continue the tough fight against drugs and make new progress in drug control.
Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said that drug problems at home and abroad, as well as related crimes, both online and offline, pose serious threats to people's lives and health and to social stability, therefore, unremitting, decisive and thorough anti-drug efforts should be continued.
Noting the nation's tough stance against drugs, he ordered Party committees and governments at all levels to adhere to the concept of people-centered development, improve the governance system on drug control and deepen international anti-drug cooperation to make greater contributions to maintaining social harmony and stability and protecting the people and their livelihoods.
Xi gave the instructions to a conference held on Tuesday to commend organizations and individuals engaged in the nation's anti-drug work.
The conference, which was held in Beijing via video and teleconference, recognized the prominent contributions of 100 organizations and 100 individuals to drug control in China since 2015. It was held ahead of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which falls annually on June 26..."
Source/publisher:
"Chinadaily" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-06-24
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
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Description:
"When Myanmar announced its seven-point economic relief plan to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 in late April, one item immediately raised eyebrows among China analysts in the country. The initiative’s third main objective is stated as “Easing the Impacts on Laborers and Workers”, and one of the ways the government intends to achieve this is putting laid-off laborers and returning migrants to work on “Implementation of Labor-Intensive Community Infrastructure Projects” before the end of this year.
At first glance, it seems a worthy goal, as it aims to benefit workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
However, with several megaprojects in the planning stages as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), experts are concerned that the COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (CERP)’s emphasis on reviving the economy will see Myanmar push ahead with the implementation of BRI projects without properly assessing their risks in terms of conflict sensibility, potential for incurring unsustainable debt and commercial viability, among other criteria.
Adding to their worries, shortly after the plan was unveiled, Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai and Myanmar’s Deputy Minister for Planning, Finance and Industry U Set Aung met to discuss how to move forward on the development of China’s ambitious projects in Myanmar in the context of the CERP. The New Yangon City; Kyaukphyu Deep-Sea Port and Industrial Zone; and China-Myanmar Cross-Border Economic Cooperation Zone projects—all of which were agreed during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Myanmar in January—were among those discussed at the meeting..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-06-11
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"New Delhi: Myanmar government’s discomfort with China is on the rise. After Myanmar’s auditor general in a startling announcement cautioned government officials about continued reliance on Chinese loans, the Myanmar government has formed a tribunal to investigate irregularities surrounding a controversial China-backed city development project near the Thai border in Karen State.
The project has been criticised due to a lack of transparency, land confiscations, confusion over the scale of construction and the growing influx of Chinese money as well as suspected illicit activity and local concerns about the social impacts of casino businesses, according to a report in leading Myanmar English media The Irrawaddy.
“The planned mega resort and city expansion project is controlled by the Karen State Border Guard Force, a Myanmar military-backed armed group led by Colonel Chit Thu and formerly known as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA),” according to the media report..."
Source/publisher:
"The Economic Times" (India)
Date of publication:
2020-06-16
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with China, “One Belt, One Road” initiative, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Topic:
casinos, China Federation of Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs, Colonel Chit Thu, Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), Development, Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN), Karen State, Karen State Border Guard Force, Land Rights, Myanmar Yatai Company, Myanmar Yatai Shwe Kokko Special Economic Zone, Myawaddy, Shwe Kokko, U Tin Myint, Yatai International Holding Group (IHG)
Topic:
casinos, China Federation of Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs, Colonel Chit Thu, Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), Development, Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN), Karen State, Karen State Border Guard Force, Land Rights, Myanmar Yatai Company, Myanmar Yatai Shwe Kokko Special Economic Zone, Myawaddy, Shwe Kokko, U Tin Myint, Yatai International Holding Group (IHG)
Description:
"The Myanmar government has formed a tribunal to investigate irregularities surrounding a controversial China-backed city development project near the Thai border in Karen State.
The planned mega resort and city expansion project is controlled by the Karen State Border Guard Force, a Myanmar military-backed armed group led by Colonel Chit Thu and formerly known as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). The project is a collaboration between a Hong Kong-based company called Yatai International Holding Group (IHG) and Col. Chit Thu, officially dubbed the “Myanmar Yatai Shwe Kokko Special Economic Zone.”
The project has sparked criticisms due to a lack of transparency, land confiscations, confusion over the scale of construction and the growing influx of Chinese money as well as suspected illicit activity and local concerns about the social impacts of casino businesses.
At a press conference in Naypyitaw on Monday, Union government office Deputy Minister U Tin Myint said he has been selected as chair of an investigative tribunal for the Shwe Kokko project.
U Tin Myint said that the team has yet to make a site visit due to COVID-19, but he has instructed officials from the Karen State government, the General Administration Department and the Settlement and Land Records Department to inspect conditions of the project on the ground..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-06-16
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with China, Other Special Economic Zones, “One Belt, One Road” initiative, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Beijing also terms Huawei executive’s detention ‘serious political incident’ after release of Canadian spy agency report
Description:
"China said Monday it has resumed work on bilateral projects with Myanmar as the two nations move past the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“China and Myanmar have launched a fast lane to facilitate essential travel and resume work and production,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lijian Zhao, addressing a news conference in Beijing.
China had closed its borders with Myanmar in April amid the coronavirus pandemic. The closure was scheduled to last for two months until June 24.
“Personnel at critical posts at oil and gas, electricity and infrastructure projects have already traveled both ways and resumed work,” Lijian said.
The coronavirus was first detected in China’s Wuhan city last December, from where it spread to at least 188 countries and regions and has affected more than 7.96 million people worldwide.
Over 3.8 million people have recovered so far, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.
The pandemic has so far claimed more than 434,000 lives. The US, Brazil, Russia and India are currently the worst-hit countries.
Meanwhile, slamming the case against Chinese telecom giant Huawei’s chief financial officer as a “serious political incident,” Zhao urged Canada “to release Meng Wanzhou at once.”
Referring to a two-page report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Lijian said: “It fully reveals the political intention of the US to deliberately oppress Chinese high-tech companies like Huawei, and Canada is acting as an accomplice.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of publication:
2020-06-16
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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Description:
"Myanmar’s Ministry of Construction has unveiled four projects to be implemented under China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), including expressways, a bridge and a tunnel, which will form crucial links in trade routes with China.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw, Deputy Construction Minister U Kyaw Lin said the government had agreed with China to implement the four “early-harvest projects” as part of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), which is a key component of the BRI.
The four projects were not among those announced when the two countries drew up their initial agreements on implementing BRI projects.
During the 2nd BRI Forum in Beijing last year, which was attended by Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar and China signed a document referring to nine early-harvest infrastructure projects under the CMEC. However, the only details released by the government at that time concerned three economic cooperation zones in Kachin and Shan states and the Muse-Mandalay railway project.
Myanmar signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China establishing the CMEC in 2018. The 1,700-kilometer-long corridor will connect Kunming, the capital of China’s Yunnan province, with Myanmar’s major economic hubs, linking first to Mandalay in central Myanmar before branching east to Yangon and west to the Kyaukphyu SEZ in Rakhine State.
The ministry said it plans to construct an expressway connecting Muse in Shan State with Mandalay via Tigyaing in eastern Sagaing Region. Muse, which sits across the border from Yunnan province, is the largest trade portal between the two nations. Mandalay is central Myanmar’s commercial center and the country’s second-largest city. The expressway is envisioned as another lifeline for China-Myanmar border trade.
China earlier announced plans to implement the 431-km-long Muse-Mandalay Railway, which would connect with China’s rail network in Ruili, Yunnan province across the border from Muse. The railway is also expected to be a key part of the economic corridor..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-06-16
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with China, “One Belt, One Road” initiative, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"China and Myanmar have opened a "fast-track lane" for essential personnel exchanges, a foreign ministry spokesperson said here on Monday.
Zhao Lijian said at a press briefing that a number of necessary personnel in oil and gas, power, and infrastructure projects will be exchanged between the countries in a two-way, return-to-work initiative known as a "fast-track lane".
This is in line with the aim of building a China-Myanmar community with a shared future and conducive to promoting construction of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor and economic and social development of the two countries, he said.
China and Myanmar share a common border of more than 2,200 kilometers. Zhao said that since the COVID-19 outbreak, the two sides have strictly implemented epidemic prevention and controls, and cooperated closely in fighting the epidemic. This followed the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries in mapping out the characteristics of bilateral relations.
"The two sides have established joint prevention and control mechanisms between border provinces and up until now, the two-way zero exchange of the epidemic has been maintained," Zhao said..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-06-15
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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Description:
"A health worker at the checkpoint in Lwe Je on the Chinese border in Kachin State tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and nearly 150 people who had contact with her have been traced, according to health officials.
On Thursday, 12 positive cases were reported and the 24-year-old midwife from Kachin State, who had no travel history or reported contact with coronavirus patients, was among them, the Ministry of Health and Sports said.
According to Kachin State’s COVID-19 control and emergency response committee, the midwife was part of the health team at Lwe Je border in May and early June to perform medical checkups for returnees from China.
“We think she was infected by someone returning from China as she has no history of travel or contact with a known patient. Currently, she is in good health and was taken to the general hospital in Bhamo Township,” said U Tint Naing, the deputy director of the committee.
Swabs from 20 health workers at the border were sent for lab tests on June 4 with the midwife testing positive on June 11.
Now 21 health, administration and immigration staff who worked with her at the border are being held in quarantine.
The midwife is from Wein Kham village in Momauk Township in Kachin State. She has also vaccinated children in the village and went to Momauk hospital for training.
Since she worked at Lwe Je checkpoint – through which over 10,000 migrant workers have returned from China since April – it is suspected the midwife was infected by a silent carrier.
The committee said approximately 150 people in contact with her were being traced and 71 swabs were being taken on Friday.
“Swabs were already taken from 71 people and more will come. We will send swabs to the Yangon lab. Home quarantine for the children and her family in Wein Kham and Momauk has already been ordered,” U Tint Naing added..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-06-12
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"The Myanmar government says it is receiving help from a Swiss company to scrutinize a China-backed study on Beijing’s ambitious railway project to connect Mandalay with Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province in southwestern China.
At a press conference in Naypyitaw on Wednesday, Myanma Railways Managing Director U Ba Myint said the Swiss company has already stepped in as a third party to review the feasibility study for the Muse-Mandalay Electric Railway, submitted by China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group (CREEG).
The managing director did not disclose the name of the Swiss company, but said the company will cover all their own expenses for the review.
The US$8.9 billion Muse-Mandalay Railway project is part of the backbone of the China Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), which is itself part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing’s grand Asia-Pacific infrastructure plan. The Muse-Mandalay Railway is expected to be a key part of the economic corridor and connect with the Chinese rail network at the Chinese border town of Ruili in Yunnan Province.
The railway an initial part of the strategic China-Myanmar High Speed Railway, which aims to connect Kyaukphyu in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State with Kunming via Muse, in Shan State.
In 2011, Beijing and Naypyitaw first signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to build a railway from Ruili to Kyaukphyu via Muse. The entire rail line was to run 810 km. However, the government of then-president U Thein Sein suspended the project due to strong local objections and concerns about unfair terms, including interest rates and revenue sharing as well as security. The agreement expired in 2014..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-06-11
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar’s auditor general in a startling announcement has cautioned government officials about continued reliance on Chinese loans both pre-BRI and BRI loans that come with high rates of interest.
Myanmar's current national debt stands at about $10 billion, of which $ 4 billion is owed to China, Auditor General Maw Than told a news conference in Naypyidaw on Monday. This can push Myanmar to debt trap like Sri Lanka and some African states.
"The truth is the loans from China come at higher interest rates compared to loans from financial institutions like the World Bank or the IMF [International Monetary Fund]," he said. "So, I would like to remind the government ministries to be more restrained in using Chinese loans."
The country has to repay as much as $500 million annually to China in both principal and interest. Analysts have pointed out that Myanmar’s involvement in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) meant that it continued to take new debts to finance its huge infrastructure projects..."
Source/publisher:
"The Economic Times" (India)
Date of publication:
2020-06-13
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with China, “One Belt, One Road” initiative, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"The Chinese government has donated the fourth batch of medical supplies to Myanmar to assist in the fight against COVID-19, according to a release from the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar.
The medical supplies, including disposable masks, N95 masks, googles and personal protective equipment (PPEs), were handed over to the Myanmar side on Monday.
Noting that Monday marked the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Myanmar, Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai said he hoped that the donation could support Myanmar's efforts in fighting against the disease, adding that China is willing to strengthen anti-pandemic cooperation and other pragmatic cooperation with Myanmar to benefit peoples of the two countries.
During the handover ceremony, Myanmar's Union Minister for Health and Sports Myint Htwe expressed gratitude for the Chinese government for donating medical supplies as well as sending medical expert teams earlier to help Myanmar in the prevention, treatment and control of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of Tuesday morning, Myanmar has reported 244 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with six deaths, according to latest figures released by the Health and Sports Ministry..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-06-09
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar is planning to build new high-quality oil refineries so as to reduce reliance on the oversea market and to fulfill the local demands for oil products, an official from the Ministry of Electricity and Energy said on Monday.
"Medium oil refineries will be built in Myanmar's central region through China-Myanmar crude oil pipeline and new Integrated Refinery and Petrochemical Complex will be constructed near Yangon region under joint venture (JV) and public-private partnership (PPP) system," said Tin Maung Oo, permanent secretary of the ministry, at a press briefing.
Plans are underway to provide technical assistance and issue temporary licenses to the current operating mini oil refineries with daily production of 3,000 to 30,000 gallons of crude oil for the production of high-quality oil products, he said.
The ministry has already issued operating licenses to 170 private businessmen and also allowed 521 oil refineries to operate so far, he added.
Myanmar's crude oil production recorded 4.297 million barrels in FY 2016-17 and 3.168 million barrels have been produced so far in FY 2019-20 while natural gas production registered 7.67 trillion cubic feet in FY 2016-17 and 670 billion cubic feet have been manufactured so far in FY 2019-20..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-06-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Oil and gas, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Xi said he is ready to work with Win Myint to steer the bilateral relationship forward along the path of building a China-Myanmar community with a shared future and allow the two peoples to be good neighbors, good friends, good partners and good "Paukphaw" forever.
Description:
"Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday that relations between China and Myanmar now stand at a key juncture that inherits the past and ushers in the future as the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century.
In an exchange of congratulatory messages with his Myanmar counterpart, U Win Myint, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties, Xi said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Myanmar relations.
Xi said he is ready to work with Win Myint to steer the bilateral relationship forward along the path of building a China-Myanmar community with a shared future and allow the two peoples to be good neighbors, good friends, good partners and good "Paukphaw" forever.
He suggested that the two sides enhance bilateral high-level exchanges, consolidate political mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation in various fields, and strengthen coordination and cooperation within multilateral frameworks..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-06-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
more
Description:
"Myanmar Union Minister for International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin has extended his support for China's national security legislation for Hong Kong, the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar said earlier this week.
In a recent teleconference with Chinese Ambassador Chen Hai, U Kyaw Tin said that Myanmar has strictly adhered to the one-China principle and consistently supported the "one country, two systems" principle, holding that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China, according to a statement released by the embassy on Monday.
A sovereign state has the right to take necessary preventive measures such as proper legislation to safeguard its sovereignty, peace, stability and security, the minister said.
U Kyaw Tin expressed his confidence that under the "one country, two systems" principle, the people of Hong Kong will continue to enjoy peace, stability and prosperity.
Chinese lawmakers voted overwhelmingly at the 13th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, last week to approve the decision on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to safeguard national security..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-06-04
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Export through Lweje and Kampaiti borders to restart, having previously been confined to Muse border
Description:
"Trade restrictions between Myanmar and China are gradually being lifted, with Global New Light of Myanmar reporting the Lweje and Kampaiti borders have been reopened for export, after they were temporarily closed to avoid the risk of spreading Covid-19.
In the midst of the restrictions, the Muse border remained open for the export of watermelon, muskmelon, mango and plum, however it was inundated with growers wanting to gain access, which reportedly caused lengthy delays, reducing fruit quality and resulting in higher costs overall.
China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine has provided clearance for the export of mangosteen, rambutan and lychee to commence, in addition to existing exports.
Myanmar’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation has also sent information on tissue-culture bananas, limes, pineapples, avocados, and pomelos to China for trade access.
Asiafruit is now available to read on your phone or tablet via our new app. Download it today via the App Store or Google Play and receive a two-week free trial along with access to previous editions..."
Source/publisher:
"Fruitnet"
Date of publication:
2020-06-01
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"When Myanmar’s military regime began opening up the country politically and economically in 2010, one motive was to alleviate the country’s overreliance on China. Ten years down the road, in the context of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the threat of new Western sanctions triggered by human rights violations against the Muslim Rohingya minority, China’s influence appears hardly diminished. When the quasi-civilian government under former president Thein Sein took over from the military junta in 2011, it launched a plethora of reforms to liberalise Myanmar’s economy and its political system. Driven partly by the desire of rapprochement with the West, the new administration introduced free elections, restored civic and political rights and released political prisoners. In response, Western nations started to re-engage with Myanmar — lifting sanctions, writing off debt and disbursing development aid again.
On the economic front, signature reforms included the Foreign Investment Law of 2012, which facilitated the flow of foreign capital into Myanmar. The state’s monopoly in the telecom sector was ended and licenses issued to three foreign providers. In 2014, the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Law was introduced to spearhead business environment improvements. The government also liberalised international trade by lifting state controls, easing licensing requirements and opening previously closed sectors to private sector trading.
The economic reform momentum slowed down when a new government led by the former opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), took over in 2016. Under the leadership of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, its initial focus was on peace, national reconciliation and cementing the democratic transition. In October 2016, the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State pushed economic policy-making further to the back seat, disenchanting the business community..."
Source/publisher:
"East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication:
2020-05-27
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Other Special Economic Zones, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
With the economy taking a battering, Myanmar will have less room to negotiate over big infrastructure projects
Description:
"The economic blow dealt by the coronavirus pandemic may put Myanmar in a weaker position as it negotiates with China over a series of large infrastructure projects, analysts have said.
Myanmar plays a key role in China’s global Belt and Road project, a strategy to deepen trade and economic ties with over 60 countries by building railways, ports, bridges, roads and other infrastructure.
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with President Win Myint by phone this week about pushing ahead with the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, which will link China’s landlocked Yunnan province to the Bay of Bengal via a deep sea port in Rakhine state.
Some observers believe the call signals that China intends to exploit the coming economic slowdown to push ahead with projects on its own terms.
“Myanmar was very cautious about dealing with these projects before,” said Khin Khin Kyaw Kyee, a China analyst at the Yangon-based Institute for Strategy and Policy.
“But Covid-19 has compromised that and the projects are going to get momentum here because there aren’t a lot of options,” she added.
Myanmar’s GDP is likely to drop by 2-3% as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the poor set to be hardest hit, the World Bank warned..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-05-27
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
" Xie Jian left Myanmar more than a month ago, but still gets messages from his peers in the Southeast Asian country asking about the prevention and control of COVID-19.
"I get inquiries about how to enhance prevention and control and how to apply traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the fight against COVID-19," the TCM expert who went to Myanmar to fight the epidemic said. Xie was part of a group of 12 medics from China who were sent to the neighboring country to help deal with the outbreak in April.
During their 15-day stay there, the medics held more than 60 training sessions in more than 40 hospitals and laboratories, interacting with experts and local medical staff.
One of the major responsibilities of Xie, a doctor with the Yunnan Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in southwest China's Yunnan Province, was to share his experience in the fight against coronavirus through TCM.
"Through training and communication, we showed how to fight the epidemic with TCM and its effects," he said, adding that officials and medics were quite interested in how TCM battles the disease.
"Experts in Myanmar believe that traditional medicine in Myanmar is similar to TCM, which could prevent or eradicate illnesses," Xie, the only TCM practitioner in the Chinese team, said. During the stay, the TCM medication he was carrying became quite popular, he said.
Though a busy doctor, Xie did not hesitate to join the team when he heard China was sending medics to Myanmar.
"Though my family was a little worried about the epidemic, they were quite supportive," Xie said. "It was an honor to join the team."
Xie lauds relations between China and Myanmar. After the epidemic broke out in China, people from Myanmar sent help. When confirmed cases were reported in Myanmar, China increased support to the country.
"As the two countries fight together, we can protect our people from the impact of COVID-19," he said.
China donated a nucleic testing lab to Myanmar, the equipment for which was taken by the medical team to the country. China has so far donated more than 160,000 nucleic testing kits, over 3.97 million surgical masks and about 50,000 protective suits to Myanmar.
After the epidemic broke out, authorities from Yunnan's Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture that borders Myanmar held a series of meetings with their counterparts in the neighboring country to discuss ways to battle the outbreak. They also donated medical supplies to Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-05-26
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Suu Kyi is now close to old adversary China while long-ruling military is skeptical of Beijing's intent ahead of pivotal polls
Description:
"Elections are scheduled for November in Myanmar, and there is no indication so far that the polls will be postponed due to the Covid-19 crisis. Neither is there much doubt about the outcome.
Most political observers believe that State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) will win again, though not in the same landslide fashion as in 2015 as recent by-elections show she and her party have lost significant support in ethnic areas.
But the bigger electoral question is how her party’s delicate relationship with the autonomous military will play out and in that context how her government’s ties to its powerful northern neighbor China will be portrayed and potentially politicized on the campaign trail.
An entirely new paradigm has emerged in Myanmar, one where Suu Kyi is now seen as a trusted ally of Beijing and the military as a nationalistic bulwark against China’s strong advances. That’s a significant reversal, one that could have implications for stability in the lead-up to polls.
When Suu Kyi was under house arrest during military rule or active in non-parliamentary politics, China viewed the long-time pro-democracy icon with suspicion. That was at least in part because her late British husband, a Tibetologist, maintained ties with many Tibetans in exile..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-05-25
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The Military's political role, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), “One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"The Burma Road (Chinese: 滇缅公路) was a road linking Burma with the southwest of China. Its terminals were Kunming, Yunnan, and Lashio, Burma. It was built while Burma was a British colony in order to convey supplies to China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Preventing the flow of supplies on the road helped motivate the occupation of Burma by the Empire of Japan in 1942. Use of the road was restored to the Allies in 1945 after the completion of the Ledo Road. Some parts of the old road are still visible today.
The road is 717 miles (1,154 km) long and runs through rough mountain country.[2] The sections from Kunming to the Burmese border were built by 200,000 Burmese and Chinese laborers during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and completed by 1938.[3][4] It had a role in World War II, when the British used the Burma Road to transport materiel to China before Japan was at war with the British. Supplies would be landed at Rangoon (now Yangon) and moved by rail to Lashio, where the road started in Burma.
In July 1940, the British government yielded, for a period of three months, to Japanese diplomatic pressure to close down the Burma Road to supplies to China.[5]:299 After the Japanese overran Burma in 1942, the Allies were forced to supply Chiang Kai-shek and the nationalist Chinese by air. United States Army Air Force cargo planes, mainly Curtiss C-46s, flew these supplies from airfields in Assam, India, over "the hump", the eastern end of the Himalaya uplift.Under British command Indian, British, Chinese, and American forces, the latter led by General Joseph Stilwell, defeated a Japanese attempt to capture Assam and recaptured northern Burma. In this area they built a new road, the Ledo Road which ran from Ledo Assam, through Myitkyina and connected to the old Burma Road at Wandingzhen, Yunnan, China. The first trucks reached the Chinese frontier by this route on January 28, 1945..."
Source/publisher:
YouTube via Way Back
Date of publication:
2017-09-05
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Japanese Occupation Period and World War II, General studies (covering various periods and themes), China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Faced with the threat of a coronavirus pandemic which could have devastating effects in a country with poor health infrastructure, Myanmar’s government and many ethnic armed organisations have taken steps to put aside their ongoing conflict to fight a common enemy.
Myanmar has so far tested more than 17,000 people for Covid-19 and identified 199 confirmed cases out of a population of 54 million. Along the country’s northeastern border with China, the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), one of dozens of organisations which have been engaged in on-off conflict with the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) for decades, started making preparations against the coronavirus in February. It established a Covid-19 prevention committee, started importing test kits from Singapore and China, initiated social distancing policies and public health campaigns, and built handwashing stations and quarantine facilities.
No cases have yet been reported in KIO-controlled areas but if they arise, patients will be sent to the KIO hospital in its headquarters of Laiza, which has 50 ICU beds and 10 ventilators.
The KIO and Myanmar officials had no formal communication relating to Covid-19 response planning until April 27, when the government announced a committee to engage with certain ethnic armed organisations including the KIO to fight the pandemic..."
Source/publisher:
"South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-05-24
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, China-Burma relations
more
Description:
"The Myanmar and Chinese authorities say traders are incurring losses due to restrictions at border gates and that field visits will be used to attempt to resolve the issues.
Myanmar Trade Department Director General (DG) Min Min said, “Their Yunnan Province Commerce Department DG met with our Consul General in Kunming. They said that they would investigate this case through field visits. And also our ambassador to China said that they agreed to resolve this case through negotiations as soon as possible by meeting with the government departments concerned.”
Minister of Economy and Commerce Dr. Than Myint met Chinese ambassador Mr Chan Hia on May 21 through a video conference call to resolve the issue of great losses suffered by Myanmar traders due to traffic jams at border trade posts. Similarly Myanmar consul general in Kunming, China reportedly met Yunnan Province Economy and Commerce Department DG in an attempt to resolve this issue. Currently three border trade posts are open for trade operations on Sino-Myanmar border but the Chinese side does not allow Myanmar drivers to enter their country so that the Chinese drivers have to replace them in driving into their country which caused delays in trade activities and difficulties in goods flow into China..."
Source/publisher:
"Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-05-24
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed hope that Myanmar will speed up cooperation with China to implement its ambitious infrastructure projects in the country during a recent call with Myanmar President U Win Myint.
In the phone conversation on Wednesday, Xi said that he is expecting the two sides will cooperate closely and speed up the implementation of projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that were agreed to during his visit to Myanmar earlier this year.
During Xi’s visit to Myanmar, both sides agreed to speed up the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) backbone projects including the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in western Rakhine State, New Yangon City in Myanmar’s commercial capital and Cross-Border Economic Cooperation Zones in Shan and Kachin states.
He branded all three projects as crucial pillars of the CMEC that are needed to deepen “result-oriented BRI cooperation” and move from “the conceptual stage to concrete planning and implementation” of building the CMEC.
In January, the two sides inked a concession agreement and shareholders’ agreement for Kyaukphyu SEZ, a letter of intent on the development of Yangon City and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to accelerate negotiations around the Ruili-Muse Cross-Border Economic Cooperation Zone.
Among the backbone projects, the Kyaukphyu SEZ is crucial for China, as it is expected to boost development in China’s landlocked Yunnan Province and provide China with direct access to the Indian Ocean, allowing its oil imports to bypass the Strait of Malacca.
The two sides signed an agreement on CMEC in 2018 and the corridor is part of the BRI, Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy project. Unveiled in 2013, the international plan is also known as the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The project aims to build a network of roads, railroads and shipping lanes linking at least 70 countries from China to Europe, passing through Central Asia, the Middle East and Russia and fostering trade and investment..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-05-22
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Other Special Economic Zones, China-Burma relations, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
more
Description:
"Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that China stands ready to work with Myanmar and other countries to continue to support the World Health Organization (WHO) playing a leading role in the global battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a phone conversation with his Myanmar counterpart, U Win Myint, Xi also called for concerted efforts to firmly uphold international fairness and justice as well as the basic norms in international relations, and jointly win the battle for global public health.
Recalling that after the coronavirus disease broke out in China, the Myanmar government and all sections of society extended a helping hand to the Chinese side, Xi said the outbreak in Myanmar is pulling at the heartstrings of the Chinese people. The Chinese side has donated multiple batches of anti-epidemic supplies to Myanmar and sent two groups of medical experts to fight side by side with Myanmar medical workers, he added.
That, he pointed out, has fully demonstrated the "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship of standing together and helping each other between the people of the two countries, and vividly illustrated the spirit of a community with a shared future that features China and Myanmar sticking together through thick and thin.
China will continue to provide firm support and as much assistance as its capacity allows for the Asian neighbor in line with the latter's needs, Xi said, adding that he is confident that the Myanmar people will eventually overcome the epidemic..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-05-21
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"China will continue to support Myanmar and Bangladesh to fight the COVID-19 pandemic at its best in terms of medical supplies and teams of medics based on their needs, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday during separate phone calls with Myanmar's President U Win Myint and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Xi pointed out that the government of Myanmar and various sectors of its society have supported China during the most crucial time of China's fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic.
China has also donated a number of anti-epidemic medical materials to Myanmar and sent two batches of medical experts to fight side by side with Myanmar's medical staff, and China will continue to provide firm support and help within its capabilities based on Myanmar's needs.
Xi stressed that this year marks the 70th anniversary of China and Myanmar's diplomatic relations, noting that he visited Myanmar in January and hopes that these two countries can work closely to implement the results of the visit..."
Source/publisher:
"CCTV" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-05-21
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
At present, fears that China is using the pandemic to exert excessive pressure and push through BRI projects in Myanmar are exaggerated.
Description:
"With the COVID-19 pandemic past its peak in China, attention has turned to the Chinese government’s deployment of “COVID diplomacy.” This term frames how China’s government is sending medical supplies and personnel across the world — including to Myanmar — to build goodwill and show global leadership in fighting the pandemic. Some Southeast Asian observers say it is an overt propaganda campaign, with others going further and warning of the region’s acceptance of Chinese government soft power.
For Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partners, some view China’s government are using such soft power to push through projects that may not be in the recipient’s best interests. In Myanmar, some saw Chinese Ambassador Chen Hai’s May 6 meeting with Deputy Minister for Planning, Finance and Industry U Set Aung regarding the implementation of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) project — which falls under the BRI — as an attempt to push such projects through.
The discussions took place soon after Myanmar released its COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (CERP), which was published on April 27. The CERP details the country’s short- and medium-term plan to deal with the economic impact of the pandemic and includes stipulations to expedite the solicitation of strategic infrastructure projects, as well as approve and disclose large investments by reputable international firms that are experiencing delays.
For the time being in Myanmar, however, fears that China’s government is using the pandemic to exert excessive pressure and push through BRI projects are exaggerated. The suspicion surrounding Chen Hai’s meeting is questionable given that discussions were on projects for which MoUs had been signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Myanmar in January this year, the first such visit by a Chinese leader in 19 years.
Indeed, the acceleration of the BRI in Myanmar was already underway before the global ramifications of the COVID-19 outbreak were known. Ahead of his arrival in Myanmar in January, Xi called for the “deepening of results-oriented Belt and Road cooperation and [to move projects] from a conceptual stage to concrete planning and implementation in building the CMEC.”
During Xi’s visit, the Kyaukphyu SEZ and deep-sea port, Myanmar-China border economic zones, and New Yangon City developments were described as the “three pillars” of the CMEC. These were the three projects reportedly discussed during Chen Hai’s May 6 meeting. Certainly, the Chinese government will be hoping to improve its image to ease BRI project implementation. Projects may be accelerated to mitigate the expected economic downturn in Myanmar. Yet, there has been no major shift in BRI project implementation because of the pandemic. Given the scale of BRI projects and importance to Myanmar’s economy, it would have been astonishing if such a meeting had not taken place soon after the CERP was released..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2020-05-20
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
more
Description:
"FOUR years ago I wrote a story about the Myanmar cattle industry with the heading “Myanmar’s Enigmatic Beef Cattle Industry: Please ring back in 2026.”
I have just spent two weeks in Myanmar (formerly Burma) in mid-January 2020 and must review my predictions for the future of the cattle industry as a lot has happened in the last four years.
In my first article I presented the following summary of the main problems that needed resolution before the live cattle trade with China could commence in earnest:
Solve all the ethnic disputes across Myanmar to ensure free movement of people and trade goods throughout the country and across national borders;
Eradicate Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) which is endemic in Myanmar;
Mechanise Burmese agriculture so that diesel hand tractors take the place of draft cattle;
Convince the new Burmese government and general population that after their 54 year bitter struggle for democracy, embracing Chinese offers of trade and infrastructure will not automatically lead to a new form of domination by the overwhelming commercial and political muscle of China.
You can put a line through the barriers listed above as they are all now resolved to a point where trade has already commenced in significant volumes.
I was told by a number of sources that during the period of three months prior to our visit in January 2020 that the average daily live exports into China through the Shan state border crossing of Muse were in the order of 1000 slaughter cattle per day..."
Source/publisher:
"Beef Central"
Date of publication:
2020-05-15
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"Chinese authorities handed over 260 Myanmar workers returning from Wuhan and other provinces across China as well as detainees, said Thurein, administrator of Muse Township and chairman of the Township Covid-19 Prevention and Control Committee.
“The returnees also included detainees. They have health certificates so we can roughly assume that they are free from disease. We will conduct necessary checks. For their quarantine, relevant townships will take responsibility. We will send them to respective townships if they are in good health with no body temperature,” he said.
Chinese health authorities reportedly conducted health checks three times a day on the Myanmar nationals due to return home. Some were housed at detention centres and some at hotels or guesthouses. There are still a lot of Myanmar workers in China.
“I went to China on August 31, 2019. I lived in Santon. In October I went to Hanchan. I arrived in Wuhan on November 11. The pandemic came not long after I started working there. So the factory had to close. Police arrived and I was arrested. They knew I was a Myanmar citizen. They took me to a police station and I had to have a blood test. In April, they took me to a detention centre. I was under detention for about a month. They came to me to conduct health checks three times a day. I didn’t hear Myanmar citizens were infected with the virus. There are still a lot of Myanmar nationals there. They have difficulty making money. They all want to go back home,” Aye Mar Khaing who worked at an air-conditioner factory..."
Source/publisher:
"Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-05-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"China and Myanmar inked dozens of deals on Saturday to speed up infrastructure projects in the Southeast Asian nation, as Beijing seeks to cement its hold over a neighbor increasingly isolated by the West. But no major new projects were agreed during the two-day visit by President Xi Jinping, the first of any Chinese leader in 19 years. Analysts said Myanmar was generally cautious of investments by Beijing and was also being careful ahead of elections later this year.
Still, Xi and Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi signed 33 agreements shoring up key projects that are part of the flagship Belt and Road Initiative, China’s vision of new trade routes described as a “21st century silk road”.
They agreed to hasten implementation of the China Myanmar Economic Corridor, a giant infrastructure scheme worth billions of dollars, with agreements on railways linking southwestern China to the Indian Ocean, a deep sea-port in conflict-riven Rakhine state, a special economic zone on the border, and a new city project in the commercial capital of Yangon. They did not address a controversial $3.6 billion Beijing-backed mega dam, where work has been stalled since 2011, reflecting the contentiousness of Chinese investment in Myanmar, where many are uncomfortable with the sway Beijing has over its smaller neighbor..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2020-01-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Since 2010, China has been casting its eyes on Myanmar’s rich natural resources for commercial exploitation.
Description:
"The Chinese “project of the century” — the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which is a transcontinental network of roads, railways and ports, covering dams, mines and pipelines is causing major environmental deterioration in Myanmar. The BRI has profound consequences, involving soil contamination and erosion, air pollution, water pollution, habitat and wildlife loss. Some projects have been stalled due to local opposition, however it won’t be for long before China resumes these projects. Local activists in few instances have also been arrested and suppressed by the central government of Myanmar.
Myanmar, also known as Suvarnabhumi in Sanskrit (Golden Land), has been famous for its natural resources since ancient times. The raw materials include oil, gas, minerals, timber, forest products and hydropower potential. China since 2010 has been casting its eyes on Myanmar’s rich natural resources for commercial exploitation. The issues of Myitsone dam project, Letpadaung copper mine project and Kyaukpyu port in Myanmar have been elaborated in detail below, highlighting China’s continuous defence of its wrongdoings in Naypyidaw..."
Source/publisher:
"Observer Research Foundation (ORF)" (India)
Date of publication:
2020-04-15
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, The impact of climate change on the environment of Burma/Myanmar, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe on Friday spoke over phone with Myanmar's defense minister Sein Win on COVID-19 prevention and control.
Wei said China has passed through the most difficult period of the fight against the epidemic with arduous efforts and has further consolidated the positive trend in its epidemic prevention and control situation.
The Chinese military is willing to strengthen anti-epidemic cooperation and border control with Myanmar to jointly curb the spread of the epidemic in the border areas, Wei said.
Sein Win expressed gratitude to China for its support and assistance, saying that Myanmar highly appreciates and sincerely thanks China for effectively curbing the spread of the epidemic to its surrounding areas.
Myanmar is willing to continue to maintain communication with China and further strengthen cooperation in epidemic prevention and control, he said..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-04-24
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"A team of medical personnel from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Friday arrived in Myanmar's Yangon to assist the country in fighting against the COVID-19.
Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai expressed his belief that the arrival of the Chinese military medics will assist in Myanmar's fight against COVID-19 and strengthen the bilateral friendship and cooperation between the two countries' militaries.
Yangon Region Commander Maj-Gen Thet Pon told media that "we do believe that we could fight the disease through collaborations with the Chinese medical personnel in the fields of diagnosis and treatment for COVID-19."
The Chinese military medics will join Myanmar's military medical personnel at the 1,000-bedded Defence Services General Hospital in Mingaladon township of Yangon, he said.
Along with the team, a batch of medical supplies donated by China including medical masks, N95 and KN95 masks and laboratory equipment also arrived in Yangon on Friday.
A 12-member medical expert team from China's Yunnan Province arrived in Myanmar as the first batch of medical assistance from China on April 8 and carried out collaborations with Myanmar's health authorities for two weeks, drawing on their frontline experiences in China..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-04-24
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Myanmar is ill-equipped to handle growing COVID-19 caseload on its own — it requires external help.
Description:
"As the entire world is struggling with the COVID-19 crisis, Myanmar too is feeling the heat with 41 cases, including two cases reported on 13 April morning. Myanmar reported its first case sometime back around 24 March amidst growing scepticism about it’s apparent lack of cases despite sharing a 2,220-kilometer-long border with China.
As may be recalled, China is where the pandemic emerged with the toll put at 83,305. Incidentally, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Myanmar while the virus containment initiatives were ongoing, back home. The visit was aimed at cementing bilateral relations further. However, amidst the current crisis, it’s important to re-assess how the relationship may unfold in the days to come.
Till a week back, Myanmar had reported only a handful of cases with no trace of the virus migrating from China. This may be partly since the Hubei province, where the pandemic epicentre Wuhan is located, does not border Myanmar. Also, both the regions have less business dealings.
However, a constant factor that stands tall amidst this humongous crisis is not to offend or annoy the heavy-weighted neighbour while it was facing its critical period. This move has been quite visible while receiving President Xi in Naypyidaw on 18 January. Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi consciously avoided the topic of the new virus so as not to put her guest in an embarrassing position..."
Source/publisher:
"Observer Research Foundation (ORF)" (India)
Date of publication:
2020-04-14
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
A global research agency believed increasing pressure from the west on Myanmar’s alleged rights violations would push the country’s political and economic allegiance towards China, even if Myanmar seeks diversification of trade relations.
Description:
"Fitch Solutions, a unit of the UK Fitch Group, said China looks likely to be the dominant foreign influence over the coming years with its already entrenched interests over Myanmar coupled with the possibility of news sanctions from the West due to human rights abuses.
“The government’s inaction and repeated equivocation of the alleged abuses risks Myanmar becoming even more isolated on the international stage and also sanctions being expanded to include civilians and the economy,” said Fitch Solutions in its latest Outlook for Myanmar report released last week.
The atrocities committed against the northern Rakhine Muslims has once again caught the international attention recently as the International Court of Justice in January imposed emergency “provisional measures” on Myanmar, ordering the country to preserve evidence of crimes and report to the court on measures taken to prevent genocide. The case derived from the military crackdown that resulted in more than 740,000 northern Rakhine Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh.
The EU Commission’s decision in early February to partially withdraw Cambodia’s trade preference under the Everything But Arms (EBA) trade preferences initiative renewed worries about the EU removing Myanmar’s privileged status..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-03-06
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, Burma's economic relations with China, Other Special Economic Zones, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"A total of 154 Myanmar citizens have so far returned from China with the help of the Myanmar embassy in Beijing following the spread of the coronavirus, the embassy reported.
Some Myanmar citizens working in China made contact with the embassy saying that they wanted to return home in fear of COVID-19.
The embassy sent 64 Myanmar citizens in the first batch to Chinshwehaw border gate on the Myanmar-China border on March 1.
The group included 12 pregnant women and their husbands and those with poor health.
Again, 59 people were sent in the second batch on March 2. Among them were 15 Chin nationals. The third batch was also sent on the same day. They were sent in accompany with two Chinese doctors and 14 police officers.
The returnees will be handed over to Myanmar authorities after medical checkups, citizenship scrutiny, and other checks..."
Source/publisher:
"Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-03-04
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Chinese President Xi Jinping likes to travel big. His visit to Myanmar in January — the first for a Chinese leader in almost two decades — was no exception, capped off with no less than 33 bilateral agreements. However, the number alone overstates things. Some of the "agreements" merely saw Xi's entourage hand over feasibility studies for proposed projects. Many are not new. The number does, however, underscore the ever-tighter orbit Myanmar has been tracing around its giant neighbor since a detente with the West hit reverse over a massacre of the country's Muslim Rohingya minority in 2017.
Crucially, a few of the deals advance China's plans to turn Myanmar into a secure new route to the Indian Ocean, valuable to Beijing for strategic and economic reasons.
Whether China's coming spending splurge spells boom or bust for threadbare Myanmar — and peace or more war for its restive fringes — remains a worry.
A pair of Chinese-built oil and gas pipelines already bisect Myanmar, from Kyaukphyu on the country's Bay of Bengal coastline to its border with China's landlocked Yunnan province. As part of Xi's signature Belt and Road Initiative, the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor would add a rail link to the route, an industrial park along their shared border and — most critically, and controversially — a deep sea port at Kyaukphyu to anchor it all..."
Source/publisher:
"VOA" (Washington, D.C)
Date of publication:
2020-03-04
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Most of deals meant to speed ambitious Chinese plan to connect Asia with Africa, Europe via land and maritime networks
Description:
"Myanmar and China on Saturday signed scores of deals, most of them set to spur China’s landmark Belt and Road Initiative, an ambitious project to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks to boost trade and stimulate economic growth.
On his first visit to China’s Southeast Asian neighbor, President Xi Jinping met Myanmar President Win Myint, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, and military chief Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing.
Xi and Suu Kyi witnessed the signing of 33 agreements, protocols, and memoranda of understanding of infrastructure projects.
The pacts include a concessional agreement for a deep sea port project in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, giving Beijing strategic access to the Indian Ocean and cutting its reliance on maritime trade on the narrow and congested Strait of Malacca between Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.
China also handed Myanmar a feasibility study for a high-speed railroad line connecting Kumin, China to the Rakhine port.
The agreements also include developing a special economic zone along the two countries’ shared border and a new city next to Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city.
Most of the deals are to strengthen the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, a plan to connect China's Yunnan Province with Myanmar's second-largest city Mandalay, leading to Yangon and Kyaukpyu in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. It is widely seen as a strategic economic corridor under the Belt and Road Initiative..."
Source/publisher:
"Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of publication:
2020-01-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Other Special Economic Zones, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Xi’s recent voyage to Myanmar spotlighted the broader question about whether some key regional states are getting more cautious in responding to Beijing’s initiative.
Description:
"One of the storylines that ran throughout Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first visit to Myanmar in his current capacity was the inroads Beijing was hoping to make with respect to its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). While the focus itself was not surprising, it nonetheless raised a broader question at play in the wider region: are key states getting more cautious in how they engage the BRI?
Since China’s BRI first took off, there has been a near endless focus on the mix of opportunities and challenges it presents for various countries as well as how other major powers are responding to it But as I’ve argued before, a key part of that conversation, beyond what China wants or what the United States thinks and does, is how key regional states themselves are responding to the BRI.
Getting a sense of regional reactions is challenging given the diversify of responses we have seen, the evolution of the BRI itself, which remains quite amorphous in some senses amid the periodic reports we see, and the relative availability of alternatives offered by other countries such as Japan. Indeed, regional engagement with the BRI is best seen not as a linear process, but a more dynamic one in response to changes in these variables and more..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2020-01-22
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The Belt and Road Initiative, hailed for promoting development, is coming under fire as debt burdens grow, reflecting a growing wariness of Beijing’s posturing as a global leader-in-waiting on an international stage that seeks to promote debate rather than censor it
Description:
"A good way to measure China’s appeal for the rest of the world is to gauge the success of its Belt and Road Initiative.
As of last September, Beijing had signed more than 190 cooperation documents with more than 160 countries and international organisations in support of the trade initiative to link economies into a China-centred trading network. Its cumulative investment has exceeded US$100 billion, with construction projects valued at a staggering US$720 billion. Yet the initiative had begun slowing by 2018. This was due, in part, to a decline in Chinese funds available for investment. Chinese state banks had become more cautious about lending as the trade war with the United States commenced.
Chinese state-owned enterprises were still moving car and steel capacity overseas, and building highways and cement plants in developing economies, but on a much smaller scale compared to their 2016 investment peak. Some countries (such as Myanmar, Sierra Leone and Tanzania) had become hesitant about continuing to borrowing large sums for fear of a debt trap..."
Source/publisher:
"South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-02-05
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is nothing if not vague. Is it a blanket term for all Chinese overseas economic, social and political activities? Is it a specific set of coordinated policy that’s exclusive to Beijing-led international endeavors? What projects are officially Belt and Road? Where do the corridors actually go? What countries are truly participating? Nearly seven years into the initiative, we are still asking these questions as Beijing attempts to wrangle back its message from private firms and enterprising governments that have unscrupulously been using the Belt and Road brand for their own gains, dragging its reputation through the proverbial mud and putting the future of the initiative in jeopardy. The Belt and Road was announced in 2013 as an economic development initiative that would create new trade corridors across Asia, Europe and Africa, positioning China at the top of the geo-economic food chain, while providing mutual benefit to participants all the way down the line. Beyond that vague rendering, the rest was left to conjecture, with a large degree of meaning lost between China’s struggles to explain the initiative and the West’s inability to comprehend it.“I think the difference among policy makers is one of the biggest challenges of the Belt and Road,” said Moritz Rudolf, a China researcher, lawyer, and founder of Eurasia Bridges. “For the Chinese side it's unclear why the West doesn’t understand what they are doing and from the Western side it's ‘this is nothing because it doesn't follow our procedures that we know about.’”..."
Source/publisher:
"Forbes" (USA)
Date of publication:
2020-02-28
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
" The Myanmar-China Friendship Association has offered scholarships to 106 Myanmar outstanding students in need.
The students given scholarships this year included those who are studying in medical and engineering field as well as the postgraduates, Chairman Sein Win Aung of the association told the event on Saturday.
"Financial assistance from my parents who are farmers wasn't enough to cover all the expenses including tuition fees before. I really appreciate the assistance from the association as it means a lot for me," Oak Soe Paing, a freshman medical student, told Xinhua.
The program was handed over to the association from Su Xiuyu (Daw Zin Khine) Foundation, a Chinese educational foundation which has been extending scholarships to Myanmar students across the country since 2013.
So far this year, it has granted assistance to a total of 644 outstanding needy students from the country's states and regions..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-03-01
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, Education abroad
Language:
more
Description:
"More than 1,000 Burmese workers in China have contacted the Myanmar embassy for help returning home, an official at the Myanmar embassy in Beijing told Myanmar Now.
Factory closures in response to the coronavirus outbreak have left large numbers of Myanmar migrants out of work, with some sleeping rough besides highways and in bushes, according to one charity.
The Moe Ma Kha Foundation, which is helping the stranded Myanmar migrants, has urged the embassy to prioritise over 200 factory workers who are sleeping rough in forests in Shandong and Guangdong provinces.
They include pregnant women and children, and the workers there are running low on food because they have so little money, the foundation said.
But the embassy said no one would be prioritised, and that the order of returns would be based on addresses and other credentials..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-27
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar is exported over 45,000 tons of rice and broken rice in second week of February and it is less than 3,000 tons in compared with last week export, according to Ministry of Commerce.
It exported US$1.071 million worth of about 3,900 tons of rice and US$0.298 million worth of about 1,250 tons of broken rice from border trade centers along Myanmar-China border from February 8 to 14.
Myanmar exported 2,700 tons of rice and 1,200 tons of broken rice from Muse 105-mile border trade center, about 620 tons of rice and 0.05 ton of broken rice from Chinshwehaw border trade center and about 520 tons of rice and 50 tons of broken rice from Lweje border trade center in that period.
It exported US$8.231 million worth of over 25,000 tons of rice and US$0.401 million worth of over 15,000 tons of broken rice from maritime trade in that period.
Myanmar exported about 15,000 tons of rice and over 1,000 tons of broken rice to Asia, 5,800 tons of rice and about 4,800 tons of broken rice to Africa and about 4,900 tons of rice and about 10,000 tons of broken rice to EU in that period..."
Source/publisher:
Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-27
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The government called on China on Tuesday to ensure the health of 63 Myanmar sailors detained in Chinese prisons for illegal trading of goods.
Description:
"The Myanmar Embassy in Beijing issued the appeal amid reports that several inmates in some prisons across China have been infected with the deadly COVID-19 disease that has killed over 2600 people on the mainland.
The government asked the Chinese government to amnesty the Myanmar prisoners on humanitarian grounds.
Chinese authorities said that more than 500 inmates in five prisons in Hubei, Xiangdong and Jiejiang districts were infected with the new coronavirus as of last Thursday.
In a letter sent to China’s Foreign Ministry, the government urged Beijing to take care of the 63 Myanmar inmates and resolve their cases as soon as possible. The Myanmar Embassy in Beijing said that so far, the 63 sailors are free of the virus and have been placed in separate cells to minimise the possibility of infection..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-26
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"Two townships in northern Myanmar’s Kachin state face shortages of food staples, including rice, and rising prices, after China shut down border checkpoints in an effort to contain its coronavirus outbreak, a local lawmaker said Tuesday.
More than 20,000 residents of Chipwi and Hsawlaw townships will face shortages from now until China opens the border crossings, closed until the annual monsoon season begins in late May, said Khaw Marwu, a legislator from the Lisu National Development Party who represents the Hsawlaw constituency.
The two cold, mountainous regions along with Kawnglanghpu township lie in remote areas that are difficult to access as roads are rare, he said. Residents earn their living by farming, hunting, and selling forestry products.
The Myanmar military and a number of armed groups are present in the region, including the rebel Kachin Independence Army (KIA); the National Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), an armed group that was converted into a Border Guard Force under Myanmar military command; and the Lisu and Rawang militias..."
..
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of publication:
2020-02-25
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Food Security and displacement in Burma, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"More than 130 Myanmar citizens working at a brick making site in China’s province of Yunnan have returned home as they fear the coronavirus, according to a statement released by anti-human trafficking police on February 24.
Those Myanmar workers are 50 men and 88 women including those from Myakaing village, Kyauktan Township, Yangon Region. As the workers no longer wanted to work in China for fear of the coronavirus, they contacted the consul general’s office for help. Then, the office contacted the Yunnan Province government for further action. The authorities then sent the Myanmar workers to Chinshwehaw, a border checkpoint between Myanmar and China.
The statement said that arrangements were made to send them home after they had received medical checkups at Hopan People’s Hospital..."
Source/publisher:
Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-25
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
A Chinese-owned bag factory in Yangon abruptly announced its shutdown on Monday due to a lack of raw materials caused by the COVID-19 epidemic in China.
Description:
"The Lucky Sky Bags factory in Mya Sein Yaung industrial zone in Hlaing Tharyar township gave no notice to its workers, some of whom were on strike, before shutting down on Monday.
U Myo Zaw Htay, one of the leaders of the strike, called for the factory’s licence to be revoked and its 20 Chinese employees deported.
"They got a seven-year tax exemption for investing in Mya Sein Yaung industrial zone,” he said, “but it operated for just 11 months.”
The factory, which has 642 workers, makes leather bags for export to Europe.
The workers went on strike from January 31 to February 11 to protest against unfair labour practices, which made it difficult for the factory to meet export deadlines and resulted in a decline in orders, according to the workers.
After reaching an agreement with the factory on February 11 the workers returned to work.
But 10 days later, the labour union's secretary was fired for no reason, so the workers protested and the factory shut down, U Myo Zaw Htay said. The factory management vowed to pay the workers compensation.
Lucky Sky Bags was the third Chinese-owned company to shut down in the past three weeks due to the COVID-19 outbreak that has infected over 79,000 people globally..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-24
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Bilateral border trade between Myanmar and China declined by US$209 million from Jan. 23 to Feb. 18 compared to the same period last year due to the spread of coronavirus, according to U Khin Maung Lwin, assistant permanent secretary for the Ministry of Commerce.
The value of border trade through the Muse, Chinshwehaw, Lweje and Kanpiketi border trade zones totaled over $270 million—a decline from $479 million in the same period last year. “It was mainly because of the COVID-19 outbreak and Chinese New Year holidays. The holidays started on January 23 and normally end in early February,” U Khin Maung Lwin told The Irrawaddy.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, the value of daily trade through the border trade zones was between $10 million and $14 million. Since the outbreak, it has dropped to between $1 and $2 million per day, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
“Border trade has recovered slightly since trade resumed after February 13, but travel restrictions are still in force and watermelons are therefore not selling,” said U Khin Maung Lwin. “Around 40 trucks of honeydew melon have been exported to China as some Chinese supermarkets have bought them online. Also, only limited volumes of marine products are being exported as airlines have not yet resumed flights in the area.”..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-02-25
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar's military donated protective equipment to help China in its battle against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on Tuesday.
The donation including 90,000 pieces of surgical masks, 90,000 pieces of N-95 respirators and 90,000 pairs of safety goggles were handed over to Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai at the Nay Pyi Taw International Airport.
"The donation is as part of humanitarian assistance to portray closer military cooperation with China," said General Mya Tun Oo, chief of general staff of Myanmar Army, Navy and Airforce, extending wishes for speedy recovery from the epidemic in China.
Ambassador Chen said it is a critically important moment for China in fighting against the virus now and expressed his belief that China will win the battle against the COVID-19 soon.
A military aircraft loaded with the protective gears left Myanmar's airport to Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan province, on Tuesday after the donation ceremony..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-02-25
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
" Myanmar's Yangon Region Investment Committee (YRIC) recently approved 16 foreign investment businesses for the region, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) late Saturday.
A total of 28.507 million U.S. dollars of foreign investments from China, Seychelles and Estonia as well as 3 billion Kyats (2 million U.S. dollars) from one local enterprise engaged the region's manufacturing sector and other services, creating over 8,900 job opportunities for local citizens.
Yangon region absorbs 60 percent of country's investment from both home and abroad, followed by Mandalay region with 30 percent and the rest flows into other regions and states.
Myanmar attracted over 20.8 billion U.S. dollars' foreign investments as of Jan 31, the first four months of the current fiscal year 2019-2020, according to the DICA's figures.
The new Myanmar Companies Law which started to enforce on Aug. 1, 2018 allows foreign investors to take up 35 percent in local companies.
Under the new companies law, investment with capital not exceeding 5 million U.S. dollars can be permitted by regional and states authorities of the DICA..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-02-23
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"Exports of watermelon and marine products on Myanmar-China border have declined by 209 million US dollars due to the spreading of coronoavirus (COVID-19), said Union Commerce Minister Dr. Than Myint, on 22 February.
“Till 14 February of 2018-2019 fiscal year, the total trade value reached 14.595 billion US dollars, up 2.147 billion US dollars compared with the same period this year. The export value increased by 1.053 billion US dollars. The border trade sees a decline due to the Chinese New Year holidays and the spreading of coronavirus,” he said.
“During the holidays from 23 January to 18 February, Myanmar-China border trade declined by 209 million US dollars—exports of 152 million US dollars and imports of 57 million US dollars, compared with the same period last year. It has an impact on water melon, sweet melon, perishable goods and marine products,” Dr. Than Myint continued.
As a measure to solve this problem, Yangon Region Government helps merchants to get the places for the sale of water melon and sweet melon in Yangon market, in cooperation with Yangon City Development Committee..."
Source/publisher:
Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-23
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Border Trade with China, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA) says it fears that half the garment factories in the country may have to shut down temporarily as soon as March, due to a shortage of raw materials from China.
Description:
"The association announced this during a press conference at the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industries (UMFCCI) headquarters in Yangon last Friday.
According to the association, garment manufacturers in the country may be forced to take such action due to a shortage of raw materials from China. Some 90 percent of the raw materials such as fabrics, textiles, and zips used by garment factories in Myanmar come from China, and supplies have been curtailed due to the coronavirus outbreak in China. Much of China had been shut down for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January, but the government extended it into early February as part of efforts to curb the spread of the outbreak. Even though the extended holiday is now over, factories in China only just started up operations last week. However, with many workers quarantined and travel restrictions in place, production is only restarting slowly.
Garment factories in Myanmar are already feeling the heat and have been coping since the start of the outbreak by reducing their operations and work hours, said Some factories have already started feeling the heat with reduction in operations and running hours, MGMA members said..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-24
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Font:
Unicode
more
Sub-title:
China looks to Irrawaddy River as alternative trade route as high-speed rail plan stalls on security concerns
Description:
"Ethnic wars, security concerns and official foot-dragging have all conspired to stall China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) plan to build a high-speed railroad from its southwest down through Myanmar’s volatile northern regions to the Indian Ocean.
But Beijing has an emerging alternate plan: Develop a safer trade route via Myanmar’s Irrawaddy River – a 2,200-kilometer waterway which flows north to south through the length of a nation known for its lack of modern roads and rail links.
The China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), a BRI-driven plan to link China and Myanmar via trains, roads and ports, aims to give Beijing an alternative route for fuel and other shipments through the congested Malacca Strait and the contested South China Sea, both potential conflict areas with the United States.
That has made Myanmar a crucial cog in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature BRI, a US$1-trillion global infrastructure-building scheme that aims ultimately to put China at the center of a new global trade and security order..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-02-22
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Louise was living from hand to mouth while helping her aunt sell noodle soup in the Laos capital of Vientiane, which sits on a curve of the Mekong River. Their lives were mostly untouched by the increasing Chinese investment in their country that in recent years has built billion-dollar dams, bridges and railways.
Louise* was in her early 20s and had few professional prospects when she was approached by a woman who told her there were great opportunities in China, the country’s northern neighbour seen as a land of technological breakthroughs and booming cities. The woman said her relatives had been successful in China and she offered to take Louise there, too. Louise did not know then that this was her first step to being trapped in an abusive marriage with a Chinese man who felt he owned her.
“I wanted to support my parents … I am poor and I was very curious to see China. I thought it would bring me a better life,” Louise recalls. Soon she was in a van with nine other Laotian women, travelling from Vientiane to the border with Thailand, and from there to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, where they boarded a flight to Guangzhou in southern China. Louise is among thousands of young girls and women, mostly from Asian countries, who have been trafficked into marriages with Chinese men. She has since been rescued, but many others have not been so lucky...'
Source/publisher:
"South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-02-15
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Yangon Region government ethnic Karen Affairs Minister Naw Pan Thinzar Myo said that entry into Myanmar by Chinese tourists fell by about 30% after some of the Chinese flights were banned at Yangon International Airport after the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
She was speaking at a press conference on Friday held by the Yangon Region Legislative Assembly, Tourism Affairs Committee.
Minister Naw Pan Thinzar Myo said, “Most of the Chinese tourists came to Myanmar in Yangon-Ngwesaung 3-night, 4-day tours. Each of them spent an average of 200,000 kyats. So we lost this income earning from them but this is the global crisis. If we let them enter our country to avoid income loss we will have the risk of being infected with this virus.” During the five days before the banning of Chinese airlines entering Myanmar, over 6,200 tourists visited Myanmar but this number fell to just over 3,900 during five days after the banning of these airlines, according to the Yangon Region Government.
Before the outbreak of coronavirus in China, two Myanmar airlines and 14 Chinese airlines were regularly operating between the two countries.
Currently only four airlines coming from four cities namely Kunming, Shanghai, Mansi and Guangzhou are permitted to continue their flight operations..."
Source/publisher:
"Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-22
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Myanmar’s president will soon visit India, keeping Naypyidaw’s careful balance between India and China.
Description:
"A month after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s official state visit to Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s president, U Win Myint, is scheduled for an official visit to India in the upcoming weeks. He is expected to travel to India a few days after U.S. President Trump’s official state visit to the same country on February 24. This second presidential visit to India within a year is part of Naypyidaw’s strategic ballet with New Delhi to maintain its strategic autonomy in the Indian Ocean power rivalry. While Beijing is speeding up the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) and upgrading the bilateral relationship as part of the “community of common destiny,” New Delhi has its own game beyond economic ties with Myanmar. Focusing on military cooperation and knowledge exchange, India has already won the heart of Myanmar military (Tatmadaw). Through close ties to the Myanmar Navy, New Delhi is keeping the Indian Ocean secure, which is the essence of the grand Indo-Pacific strategy to restrain Beijing’s expansion. Naypyidaw still does not have a clear policy to engage over this strategy, as the core concept of the “Indo-Pacific” is still loosely constructed and differently interpreted in the region. However, the strategic military-to-military partnership between New Delhi and the Tatmadaw creates space for Myanmar to adhere to a core principle, an independent and active foreign policy, by giving an alternative to China for Myanmar to engage with..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2020-02-21
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, India-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Up to 50 Myanmar sailors are being arrested or detained in China for working on ships carrying illegal goods, according to a statement released by the Myanmar embassy in Beijing.
They are now at 16 detention centers and prison camps in China’s provinces and eight municipal cities.
The arrestees are in good health and living there adapting themselves to the climate.
In the cases in which Myanmar semen were arrested for various reasons in China, most are facing legal action for working on the vessels carrying illegal goods.
“They were usually detained or arrested. Then they faced a lawsuit. When they were facing trial, they were not allowed to meet their family members. They could do so only after they got into prison. Embassy officials arranged the visits,” said a second secretary from the Myanmar embassy.
The Myanmar embassy is coordinating with officials concerned to know whether the arrests of those sailors are justified and not to lose their deserving rights..."
Source/publisher:
Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-21
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Illegal Economy - general, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"When President Xi Jinping made his first state visit this year to Myanmar and signed new infrastructure contracts, there was no indication of the obstacle about to trip up China’s plan for railways, ports and highways around the world: the coronavirus. Travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the disease, which has now killed more than 1,800 people, have idled much of the world’s second-largest economy and choked key elements of Xi’s signature Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Chinese workers cannot get to overseas projects, and factories are cut off from the Chinese imports they need to keep running, according to more than a dozen company executives and officials.
“Many factories in China remain closed; those that are open cannot reach full capacity,” said Boyang Xue, a China analyst at Ducker Frontier. “Since many BRI projects tend to source equipment and machinery from manufacturers based in China, the disruptions in industrial production and supply chain will cause further delays.” One giant project, China Railway International Group’s $6 billion high-speed railway in Indonesia, is on a war footing..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2020-02-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
A state-owned Chinese firm has expressed interest to invest in the planned Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Tanintharyi Region, U Myint San, vice chair of Dawei SEZ Management Committee, told The Myanmar Times.
Description:
"The Myanmar government has yet to respond to the Chinese, given that talks to develop the SEZ with Italian-Thai Development Company Ltd (ITD) as well as the Thai and Japanese governments are at advanced stages. However, analysts aren’t ruling out the possibility.
“Dawei SEZ has taken a long time to take shape and isn’t going as planned. As we don’t have the funds to implement it, if the current investors cannot develop the project effectively, then Chinese companies are our only options,” said U Zaw Win Pe, a local analyst and former economic adviser to parliament.
“We’ll complete negotiations with the ITD first. If we cannot agree to the terms of the project, we can cancel the contract when it expires. I think the Chinese have the capacity to develop this project, but we’ll have to wait and see if ITD would be able to do it within the specified period,” U Zaw Win Pe added. The Chinese are expected to reap strategic benefits if they win Dawei SEZ. “China is already developing the Kyauk Phyu SEZ in Rakhine State. China is building a bullet train route from Kunming, China to Bangkok in Thailand. If they can connect that route to Dawei SEZ, it will be a great achievement for China. If China wins [Dawei SEZ], they will connect this route,” U Myint San said..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-20
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Dawei (Tavoy) Special Economic Zone, Chinese investment, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Countries have closed off their borders with China, airlines have slashed flights, and hotels have seen a big drop-off in bookings.
Description:
"Last month, on January 19, Myanmar’s state-run newspaper left no question as to what was the biggest story of the day. The paper carried page after page of dry reports documenting the movements and meetings of visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping. Inside were photos of Xi and Myanmar’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, sitting in gilded chairs behind a table draped in red, yellow, and green fabric, the colors of Myanmar’s flag. A parade of officials had taken turns posing in front of them, clutching red folios that each contained one of the dozens of freshly signed agreements between the two countries. The visit marked the start of the “Myanmar-China Bilateral Cultural and Tourism Year.” Buried inside the same edition of the paper was a single article, plucked from the AFP newswire, detailing alarm by medical experts in London over the spread of a “mysterious SARS-like virus in China” and warning that the scale of the outbreak was “likely far bigger than officially reported.” Of the two stories, this is the one proving to be more important to Myanmar, Southeast Asia, and the world.
The illness, now officially labeled COVID-19, has raced across the globe, infecting tens of thousands of people and killing more than 2,000, predominantly in China. Countries have closed their borders to Chinese travelers; airlines have slashed flights and limited routes. Points of transit across Asia—train stations, bus depots, airports—have seen traffic plummet, and some are nearly deserted. Leaders in Beijing are undertaking a sprawling lockdown and quarantine on a scale that is difficult to comprehend. The impact on the global economy is still yet to be fully understood..."
Source/publisher:
"The Atlantic" (Boston)
Date of publication:
2020-02-19
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations, Tourism in Burma - articles and studies
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Farm labourers and crab catchers are among the thousands of Myanmar facing hard times because of the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Description:
"THE IMPACT on Myanmar of the coronavirus outbreak that began in neighbouring China late last year has hit border trade and tourism hard, and there were reports last week that the garment sector was also being affected by supply-chain disruptions.
As of February 17, Myanmar was monitoring eight people for symptoms of the Coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, the Ministry of Health and Sport said. Earlier suspected cases of this novel type of coronavirus, including some in which patients were held in quarantine, have been confirmed as negative. COVID-19, which is a relative of the SARS and MERS coronaviruses, currently lacks a specific medical treatment and a vaccine is still being developed.
China’s decision to close four border crossings at the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year to help contain the spread of the disease has sparked a sharp downturn in trade, with the agriculture, aquaculture and seafood sectors the worst affected.
The number of Chinese tourists has also slumped, partly because visa rules have been tightened while the outbreak remains uncontrolled and also because of airlines cancelling services..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-19
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with China, Border Trade with China, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming yesterday said his country is not trying to protect Myanmar over the Rohingya issues as his country has friendly relations with both Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Responding to a question at the DCAB Talk, organised by Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at the National Press Club in the capital, Li Jiming said China wants an end to the crisis through dialogue with the intervention of China and international bodies.
The ambassador said “It is often said that China is protecting Myanmar on the Rohingya issue. We have friendly relations with Bangladesh and Myanmar. We are not trying to protect Myanmar. We are trying to persuade all to settle the issue through dialogue, especially bilateral dialogue,” he said.
“Rohingya crisis is a bilateral issue of Bangladesh and Myanmar. But in solving the crisis, they need helping hands, including China,” he added. Li Jiming We hope we can see a very concrete and sustainable result in the near future,” he added.
“China made a lot of efforts as the mediator between Myanmar and Bangladesh to resolve the Rohingya crisis. China is not the main player. Bangladesh and Myanmar are the main players. China is only helping to find a solution of the crisis. We hope we can see a very concrete and sustainable result in the near future,” he added..."
Source/publisher:
"The Independent" (UK)
Date of publication:
2020-02-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"There have been cases in which Myanmar sailors were arrested in China as they worked on ships carrying illegal goods, according to a statement released by the Myanmar embassy in Beijing.
Most of the Myanmar seamen were arrested for various reasons in China because they worked on the vessels carrying illegal goods.
“They were usually detained or arrested. Then they faced a lawsuit. When they were facing trial, they were not allowed to meet their family members. They could do so only after they got into prison. Embassy officials arranged the visits,” said a second secretary from the Myanmar embassy.
Those Myanmar sailors came to know that they were working on ships carrying illegal goods only after they were arrested. It is also reported that when such cases came, one or some of the senior officials from the ship would be arrested..."
Source/publisher:
Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Illegal Economy - general, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"The planned multi-billion dollar Kyaukphyu Deep Seaport project will be developed with the contribution of 70 per cent by the China International Trust and Investment Corporation Consortium (CITIC) and 30 per cent by Myanmar, said Deputy Commerce Minister U Aung Htoo on Feb 16.
According to the notification issued by Myanmar Economic Zones Central Committee dated 29 February, 2015, the project has a total area of 4289.32 acres—607.88 acres for the deep seaport project, 2446.07 acres for the industrial zone project and 1235.37 acres for the advanced housing project.
A framework agreement was signed by Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone Management Committee and the CITIC Consortium from China in Nay Pyi Taw on 8 November, 2018. The agreements pertaining to Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone Project and Deep Sea Port Project were signed. On 18 January, 2020, both sides exchanged the MoUs.
Both projects will be developed by the CITIC Consortium and Myanmar-Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone Holdings Groups of Company composed of 42 local private companies from Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"The Star Online" (Selangor)
Date of publication:
2020-02-17
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Other Special Economic Zones, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"At the second Belt and Road forum in April last year, Xi Jinping stated that the infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would be financially and environmentally sustainable and deliver high quality infrastructure. The re-calibration of the initiative sought to dam the surge of criticism that had been miring the Chinese flagship foreign policy initiative the past two years. Myanmar was among the countries that had become wary over the infamous debt trap narrative, unflattering reports of poor standards in infrastructure and opaque and wasteful procurement practices disproportionately favoring Chinese companies. Back on track?
Nonetheless, on 18 January 2020, BRI projects in Myanmar appeared to be back on track as Xi Jinping, on his first visit to Myanmar, and Aung San Suu Kyi announced their countries renewed commitment to cooperate. Myanmar’s eagerness for re-engagement with China, however, is driven largely by its international isolation due to the reported atrocities against Rohingyas. But has China also heeded to the criticism about BRI? It would appear that China’s new tune on BRI is not only a response to criticism but also about increased competition to its connectivity project.
Competition
Japan remains the largest infrastructure developer in Asia and in September 2019 announced a partnership to develop connectivity in Asia with the European Union (EU). This committed the partners to pursuing projects in a transparent and sustainable manner – a clear contrast to the BRI. Likewise, the EU’s connectivity strategy for Asia from September 2018 and it’s follow up a year later placed full emphasis on sustainability, good governance and transparency. The United States, South Korea, and a number of other OECD countries have also started infrastructure initiatives that seek similarly to differentiate from the BRI..."
Source/publisher:
"Eurasia Review"
Date of publication:
2020-02-16
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Other Special Economic Zones, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"As China goes all out to contain the novel coronavirus epidemic and some countries had evacuated their citizens, suspended flights and exaggerated the crisis, a launch ceremony for the China-Myanmar 2020 joint scientific survey of Myanmar's waters was held on Thursday, at Myanmar's Thilawa port in Yangon. This is the first major bilateral cooperation project launched by the two sides since President Xi Jinping's successful visit to Myanmar in January. It is a true reflection of the solid progress of the China-Myanmar community with a shared future.
During Xi's visit to Myanmar, the two countries agreed to jointly build a China-Myanmar community with a shared future, which received a positive response from all walks of life in Myanmar. Today, the epidemic fight has solidified the friendship between China and Myanmar. After the novel coronavirus epidemic broke out in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, YTV, one of the television channels in Myanmar, produced a seven-minute video to cheer for and support Wuhan and China, which touched the hearts of millions of the Chinese people.
During China's fight against the epidemic, the world has seen this scenario: Chinese builders worked day and night at "Chinese speed" to set up, in just over 10 days, two large-scale high-level specialist hospitals which were designated to treating novel coronavirus patients in critical conditions. The world knows it was a feat only China could accomplish.
The Chinese government has mobilized tens of thousands of medical workers to respond to the emergency. They headed into the eye of the storm without regard for their personal safety, validating the spirit of unity and mutual assistance of the Chinese nation during times of crisis.
The quarantine of Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic which has a population of more than 10 million, has been accomplished with the understanding cooperation of the city's people. While the city has been locked down, its order has been maintained and basic supplies largely ensured..."
Source/publisher:
"Global Times" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-02-16
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Sub-title:
A Chinese-owned garment factory in Hlaing Tharyar township in Yangon Region has temporarily shut down and laid off hundreds of workers due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Description:
"The Hunter Myanmar Garment Factory shut down on Saturday, allegedly due to financial difficulties caused by cancelled orders and lack of raw materials. Ma Thandar Win, leader of the labour union at the plant, said the Chinese owner told Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein she could not access money because the banks are closed due to the virus outbreak.
“U Phyo Min Thein said he did not know when the epidemic will end and the banks will reopen,” she said. “It is cold there and is the flu season. When spring comes in April, the problems might end, but there is no guarantee.” Ma Thandar Win said the union and management will meet on Monday at the Labour Department office in Hlaing Tharyar to discuss compensation for the nearly 1000 workers.
The workers want a guarantee that they will be reinstated when the factory reopens.
“The factory is just 13 months old and has had problems,” she said. Under the law, workers must be employed for at least six months before they are entitled to 15 days’ compensation. Many workers are not eligible yet.”
She said some workers only need a few days before they reach one year of employment, which would qualify them for one-month’s compensation. “They could lose around K130,000,” she added..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-17
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"Union Minister for International Cooperation Kyaw Htin met Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai on February 14 in Nay Pyi Taw and discussed Myanmar’s donation of 200 tons of rice to coronavirus-hit China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
“We don’t know about exact date of the donation. We are still coordinating as to whether the rice will be transported by ship or through border. But we will try to send it as quickly as possible,” said Aung Ko, director general of the Political Department.
The minister praised the Chinese people for their united efforts to fight and control 2019 novel coronavirus under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, and expressed his belief that the problem could be overcome.
The minister also expressed thanks to the Chinese government for its assistance and cooperation in evacuating Myanmar students from the city of Wuhan, said the press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs..."
Source/publisher:
Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-15
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
China’s coronavirus epidemic is hitting Myanmar’s important manufacturing and tourism industries as well as disrupting border trade, but in the longer term the crisis could encourage more supply chain factories to relocate from its giant neighbour.
Description:
"The outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the central Chinese city of Wuhan came at the worst possible time for Myanmar’s tourism industry, with the peak season lasting from October to March.
The epidemic has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization and is having an economic impact well beyond China where economic growth is forecast by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to fall to 5.4 percent from 5.9pc in 2020. Fitch Solutions Macro Research this month lowered its forecast for Myanmar’s real GDP growth for the financial year 2019-20 to 6.3pc from 6.5pc, down from an actual 6.8pc in 2018-19. It expects the slowdown in tourism activity to account for most of the impact as Chinese nationals accounted for nearly a third of over two million foreign tourists last year.
But the impact of the virus outbreak goes beyond a drop in Chinese travellers.
Crude oil prices have lost around US$10 per barrel since mid-January on coronavirus-related fears. China is the biggest oil importer and if economic activity slows further then analysts say benchmark oil prices could dip by another US$3-5 per barrel.
Oil and gas exports account for roughly half of Myanmar’s total export revenues and a drop in price will affect the government’s efforts to attract foreign investment in the upcoming bidding round. The energy ministry is expected to release 15 offshore and 18 onshore blocks to international bidders later this year.
The EIU’s global trade lead Nick Marro expects much of the economic shock to hit China in the first quarter, which he says will have consequences for ASEAN over that same period..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-14
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with China, Border Trade with China, China-Burma relations, Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar’s minister of health and sports said on Tuesday that the government plans to set up an emergency fund of 300 million kyats (US$206,000) to use in tackling the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Health and Sports Minister Dr. Myint Htwe told the Lower House on Tuesday that the fund will support the ministry’s arrangements to prevent, protect against and treat the coronavirus. The minister said the fund will be used for equipment, medicines, laboratories and protective gear in intensive care units that treat infected patients.
The minister also said that Myanmar will soon be able to do the lab tests to detect the coronavirus, as the ministry’s National Health Laboratory will soon receive reagents needed to conduct the tests. Thailand, Japan and the US have donated the reagents needed for about 350 tests. Currently, Myanmar has to send nasal swabs from tests to the World Health Organization (WHO) reference lab in Thailand.
“The regents will arrive tomorrow and our lab will be trained so that hopefully, our lab will be ready by Feb. 20,” said the minister at the Parliament session in Naypyitaw on Tuesday. The minister also said that the results from the National Health Laboratory will still be double-checked with the WHO reference lab to ensure accurate results..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-02-11
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Crew members work on the Chinese research vessel Xiangyanghong 06 at Thilawa port in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 13, 2019. Chinese research vessel Xiangyanghong 06 arrived at Myanmar's Thilawa port in Yangon on Thursday to conduct a joint research in Myanmar's waters..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-02-13
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"Two companies from Myanmar donated a batch of disposable masks to China to bolster its efforts to combat the novel coronavirus.
A total of 36,000 disposable masks were handed over by Young Insurance and Htoo Thit to the Chinese embassy in Myanmar.
"The Chinese government has done a very good job fighting the outbreak. I wish the medical staff working the front line are healthy and hope they can overcome the virus as soon as possible," said Thiha Aung, chairman of Young Insurance.
Zaw Lin, director of Htoo Thit, said, "Our aim is to help as much as we can to encourage our neighbor."
"Our embassy plans to send these donations to the areas which are in need without delay," Li Xiaoyan, charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Myanmar, told Xinhua, adding that these donations showed the deep "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship between the two peoples..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-02-11
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar’s largest private-sector airline said the novel coronavirus outbreak is likely to have an impact on its operations until April.
The airline, Myanmar Airways International-Air KBZ Group, has temporarily suspended all routes to mainland China as well as Taiwan, Commercial Director Tanes Kumar said in an interview.
“We had to shift some priorities within our strategy due to the virus outbreak,” he said, adding that once China flights resume the carrier should be able to make up the losses expected in the first four months of the year. Read More: Myanmar Expects 5 Million Tourists in 2020 Despite Virus Fears
Kumar said the airline will continue to invest in fleet expansion and that its goal is to become a “local champion” like VietJet in Vietnam or Lion Air in Indonesia..."
Source/publisher:
"Bloomberg News" (New York)
Date of publication:
2020-02-09
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"The focus of this article is two-pronged. First, it highlights China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) initiative
as a Eurasia-centred project that, distinct from the twentieth-century Eurasianism, aims to introduce a new
comprehensive integrationist agenda to the Eurasian strategic landscape. Second, it compares the US-led EuroAtlanticism and the emerging Eurasianism, holding that while the former has historically stressed security over
development (development is seen as contingent on the establishment of a hard security regime), the latter
prioritises development over security (security is viewed as contingent on the establishment of an inclusive
economic regime). Thus, this research argues that, if implemented successfully, OBOR could challenge EuroAtlanticism as the long-held normative paradigm of interstate relations by offering a systemic alternative.
EURASIANISM IS A CENTURY-OLD IDEA. EMERGING IN THE early 1920s and largely nurtured
by the Russian immigrants settled in Europe, the concept, despite its various interpretations
along different political and ideological lines, laid claim ‘to represent some unique synthesis
of European and Asian principles’ (Bassin 2008, p. 281), defining Russia ‘not as a European
and not as an Asian country; … as a third, special continent of Slav–Turkic cohabitation that
bears the imprint of the great empires that have ruled over its expanses—from the Mongolian
to the Russian’ (Laruelle 2009, p. 94).1
Although the Eurasian doctrine did not assume itself
as a unified ideology but rather evolved into a multitude of different forms (Laruelle 2015),
early Eurasianism in general argued a particular geographic, linguistical, ethno-cultural, and
philosophical identity for Russia distinct from both Europe and Asia (Shlapentokh 1997,
pp. 130–31; Senderov 2009, p. 25; Mileski 2015, pp. 177–79). However, despite the fact that
early Eurasianist thought envisioned a unique political and philosophical space for Russia,
it also ‘developed a positive but general discourse about the Orient’, holding that ‘Russia
should be closer to Asia than to Europe’ (Laruelle 2004, p. 116). During the Cold War, under
the weight of deep ideological confrontation with the West, the Eurasianist thought took a
further Orientalist inclination, emphasising cultural and ideological differences from Europe
(Von Hagen 2004, p. 450). Especially with the emergence of NATO and the expansion of
US- and Soviet-led camps ‘beyond the original arenas of Europe and Asia’, the militarised This research was sponsored by the International Postdoctoral Exchange Programme of Shandong University..."
Source/publisher:
Europe-Asia Studies via Academia.edu (USA)
Date of publication:
2018-03-09
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, China-Burma relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
722.68 KB
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Description:
"This article argues that the origins and theoretical underpinnings of Xi
Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative can actually be traced back to the mid1980s, that is, almost three decades before the ofcial media unveiled
the Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI). It examines the changing role of
Myanmar in China’s grand strategy in general and in MSRI in particular by
undertaking an investigation of trade and investment relations. This analysis
of the geo-economic and geo-strategic implications of MSRI is undertaken in
order to ofer a prognosis of benefts and costs for Myanmar. Both the extent
and the limits of MSRI are illustrated in Myanmar. It ends with a discussion
of possible roadblocks, detours, cracks and fault lines along the Maritime
Silk Road.....Myanmar/Burma is the second-largest country in Southeast Asia and is located at the juncture of
Southeast and South Asia. Given its resources, natural endowments and strategic location bordering
China and India, Myanmar fnds itself at the center of political wrangling between major powers. While
India’s culture and religion have infuenced the Burmese way of life over the centuries, China has traditionally exerted geopolitical and strategic pressure on Myanmar. As Tin Maung Maung Than notes:
‘Geopolitical ramifcations for modern Burma have been overwhelmingly determined by bilateral relations with China’, which date back to the early Pyu kingdoms of the ninth century AD.1 Myanmar sufers
from centrifugal tendencies. Since independence in 1948, successive governments have battled around
the country’s periphery with ethnic separatist movements and communist insurgencies, some of which
received direct support from Beijing. Post-independence, Myanmar has ‘accommodated China as its
“senior” in a paukphaw (kinsmen) relationship’, and avoided taking actions inimical to China’s interests..."
Source/publisher:
"Journal of Contemporary China"
Date of publication:
2017-12-27
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Other Special Economic Zones, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
490.96 KB (18 pages)
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Description:
"The “New Silk Road”, also known as the “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) initiative or Belt and
Road Initiative (BRI), is a development strategy proposed by China, which aims to foster the
economic cooperation and connectivity mostly between Eurasian countries.
1 The initiative is
named after the “Silk Road”, an ancient route of 6,437 kilometer in length, that dates back to
the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) and used to connect regions of East Asia with
the Middle East and Europe, prospering numerous Eurasian civilizations for centuries.2
Therefore, with the implementation of the “New Silk Road” strategy, China aims to revive the
2.000-year-old network by investing on some serious infrastructure projects throughout the
whole route, that largely resembles the legendary “Silk Road”. The promotion of regional
economic development, the economic benefits for the countries involved and the tightening of
the cultural ties of the participants, are the main goals of the OBOR initiative, in other words,
OBOR is based on a win-win development strategy for the countries that are located throughout
the path of the “New Silk Road”.3 The first signs of OBOR were brought to the surface during the Olympics of 2008. However,
China’s ambitious plan was first stated on 2013, by the Chinese President Xi Jinping, the 5th
president of China. The OBOR project consist of two different “routes”, one land route and a
maritime one, that both begin and end in China’s territory. The first route (Silk Road Economic
Belt) begins from Xi’an in Central China and leads to Northern Europe up to Rotterdam (busiest
port in Europe), coming all the way from Central Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and
Russia and the center of Europe. On the other hand, the maritime route (the 21st Century
Maritime Silk Road) connects the Mediterranean Sea with the South China Sea, in a long route
that comes through the Suez Canal, the Indian Ocean, the Malacca strait, etc. It is estimated
that approximately 65-70 countries and a total of 4,4 billion people (as much as the 60% of
global population) will benefit from the participation in the OBOR project that will require at
least 30-35 years to be completed..."
Source/publisher:
KEDISA via Academia.edu (USA)
Date of publication:
2017-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, China-Burma relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
904.15 KB
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Description:
"This article explores the function of a transnational road in China-Myanmar relations
from a perspective that reflects on Myanmar’s experience. It makes two key points. Firstly,
Myanmar’s dependent relationship with China is illuminated if one applies a New Economic
Geography perspective to economic processes. Secondly, these processes did not lead to a
permanent dependency structure through which China assumed the dominant position; the
structure is changeable, subject to action by Myanmar. The latter point indicates that China’s
influence is greatly contested by the smaller country, and that the interaction of economic and
political factors impact on the Myanmar-China relationship, particularly at local sites. This
article focuses on economic activities at the city level, in order to assess advantages and
disadvantages of the relationship. The cities that were chosen as the units of analysis are Ruili
and Mandalay. As the cities are situated on the main road connecting Myanmar to China, the
relationship is quite intense. This article explores the key characteristics of this economic
relation via the road, focusing on the connectivity of Mandalay and Ruili. This article will
focus on the processes of industrial relocation in Ruili and Mandalay to assess benefits
Myanmar gains from the bilateral relationship. Using a New Economic Geography approach
associated with the work of Krugman1
, a core-periphery pattern was applied as the
theoretical framework to explain industrial relocation and agglomeration. Consequently, the
analysis focuses on spatial relations and factors that form the relational structure. In addition,
this article also highlights the political and economic transitions in Myanmar since 2010 that
led to change in the relational structure. It also draws on fieldwork, which is used to illustrate
how connectivity has impacted Mandalay and northern Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok)
Date of publication:
2018-02-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Other Special Economic Zones, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
570.92 KB (19 pages)
more
Sub-title:
As Death Toll From Virus Grows, More Chinese Voice Anger, Coronavirus Death Toll Surpasses That of SARS Epidemic, Q&A: How the Coronavirus Differs From the Flu and SARS
Description:
"Myanmar police have apprehended and returned to Chinese authorities one of five people from the city of Wuhan, center of the deadly, fast-spreading coronavirus, who slipped across the porous border between the two nations earlier this week.
The only woman in the group tested negative for the virus and was repatriated on Thursday. No information is available regarding what happened to her upon arriving in China. Her compatriots remain at large, according to police in Myanmar.
Her return came a day after police in the border town of Ruili in Yunnan Province notified the chief of police in Myanmar’s Muse District to be on the lookout for four men and a woman “more than likely [carrying] the new coronavirus pneumonia,” according to a letter dated February 5, and obtained by VOA Burmese.
On Friday, a Muse police officer, who did not want to be named, told VOA, “We are still in pursuit of four missing Chinese. … Yesterday, we looked for those five missing Chinese soon after we received notification and found one woman in Muse. After health workers from both our side and Chinese side checked, she was found to be in good health..."
Source/publisher:
"VOA" (Washington, D.C)
Date of publication:
2020-02-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Investors from China are keen to grow non-intoxicating strains of cannabis in Myanmar for medicinal or industrial use, but that won’t happen without change to the anti-narcotics law.
Description:
"COMPANIES IN China have expressed strong interest in growing cannabis for medicinal and industrial purposes in Myanmar, although legal cultivation of even non-intoxicating strains of the plant, known as hemp, would require changes to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law.
The moves come as demand soars in many countries for products made from cannabis to treat a range of ailments, including chronic pain, and for making paper, textiles, construction materials and health food.
More than 30 nations have legalised the medical use of marijuana – the name used for intoxicating strains of cannabis – including neighbouring Thailand last year, the first country in Southeast Asia to do so. Meanwhile, demand in the United States has soared in recent years for cannabidiol, or CBD, a compound extracted from hemp that is used in health and beauty oils, sprays and balms. This lucrative market is largely supplied by sprawling plantations in faraway China, where domestic CBD sales are banned.
The legal use of cannabis generates billions of dollars and it’s a market with huge potential in Myanmar, which has ample land and the right climate for the crop, and thousands of farmers eager to cash in on cultivating cannabis..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Drugs and Burma: general links, reports and articles, Drugs: regional and global, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar is caught between a rock and a hard place. As the government seeks to pick up the pace of development, electrical power is needed and hydropower is touted as an “environmentally-friendly” solution in order to switch on the lights.
But there are a number of problems with how this process is being handled and the negative effects that big dams typically could have on the country’s rivers and water supply.
DAM BUILDERS VS DAM BUSTERS
Dam builders face dam busters when it comes to the pros and cons of dams as a way to harness the power of Mother Nature.
Hydropower and dams are touted by people in the industry as an answer to power and also a way to control rivers that tend to flood.
Yet the standoff over the Chinese-run $3.6 billion Myitsone Dam project in Kachin State alerts us to the public opposition to the building of dams – and in this particular case, the questions over who was going to get most of the power, given the original plan to send most of the electricity to China, while Myanmar is thirsty for electricity.
Interestingly, the Myitsone Dam was not mentioned publicly during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent state visit to Myanmar. A raft of close to three dozen development projects mostly linked to Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative were signed. But the Myitsone Dam was noticeable by its absence from the list, despite Xi being the main Chinese official, in his role as Vice President, to push for the signing of the deal back in 2009..."
Source/publisher:
"Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Dams and other projects on the Irrawaddy and its tributories, Assessment of hydropower projects in Burma/Myanmar, Dams and other hydropower projects (global, regional), China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Government looking to drum up trade with Singapore and Laos as exports to China dry up
Description:
"Myanmar is losing the equivalent of $16 million a day in border trade with China because of the coronavirus outbreak, a senior official from the commerce ministry has said.
Exports to China dropped by $160m between January 27 and February 5 at border trade areas in Shan and Kachin states, commerce secretary Khin Maung Lwin told Myanmar Now.
Trade has dried up because buyers inside China are unable to reach the border due to travel restrictions aimed at curbing the virus, said Dr Thet Lwin Oo, Director of the Myanmar International Trade Center.
Meanwhile Myanmar traders are having their Chinese visas denied, said Sein Win Hlaing, chairman of the Myanmar Rice Producers Association.
Trade at the border is worth over $500 million a month, government figures show.
Between October and January, China imported $1.4 billion worth of goods from Myanmar and exported $680 million worth.
Khin Maung Lwin said that as there were now no buyers on the Chinese side, the ministry is looking for new export markets..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Border Trade with China, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations, Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
Language:
more
Description:
"Some airlines continue to fly between Myanmar and Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Kunming of China though most of airlines have temporarily suspended their flight operations in a bid to contain the coronavirus in China, according to the statement by the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar on 6 February.
There are 12 airlines flying between Yangon and China. Eight out of 12 airlines have suspended their flight operations between Myanmar and China. The remaining four airlines continue their flight operations.
Air China operates Yangon-Beijing schedule every Friday, China Eastern, Yangon-Shanghai, Yangon-Kunming and Mandalay-Kunming schedules, China Southern Airlines, Yangon- Guangzhou and Sichuan Airlines, Mandalay-Kunming schedule.
The State-owned Myanmar National Airlines (MNA) and the private-owned Myanmar Airways International (MAI) also suspended their flight operations between Yangon and China.
Most airlines have halted their flight operations till the end of February. Airport Health Quarantine Team is monitoring passengers using WHO-recognized Infrared Thermal scanners..."
Source/publisher:
Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
Language:
more
Topic:
Myanmar , Crab , Exports , China , Virus
Topic:
Myanmar , Crab , Exports , China , Virus
Description:
"Thousands of workers from crab wholesale centres from the Labutta township are now out of their jobs after China suspended its crab imports from Myanmar due to the spread of novel coronavirus in China.
The suspension of crab exports to China has huge impacts on workers and the crab industry in the township. Crab is one of the major exports of Labutta Township, and it may have an impact on those involved in the whole industry.
The price of crab declined to around Ks5,000 (RM14) per kilo from around Ks15,000 (RM43)per kilo after China stopped importing crabs from Myanmar.
U Win Naing, Chair of the Labutta Crab Entrepreneurs Association said: “Due to the closure of border gates, we cannot ship crabs to China. We mainly export crabs to China. There are 130 crab wholesale centres in Labutta.”
Labutta township exports more than ten tonnes of crabs to China every day. Most people in the rural areas rely only on crab fishing. - Eleven Media Group/Asia News Network..."
Source/publisher:
"The Star Online" (Selangor)
Date of publication:
2020-02-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Border Trade with China, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more