“One Belt, One Road” initiative
Websites/Multiple Documents
Description:
Belt & Road News (Website), Dedicated News, Views & Analysis.
Source/publisher:
"Belt & Road News"
Date of publication:
2019-08-30
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-30
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative
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Individual Documents
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
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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
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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
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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:
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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:
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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:
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Description:
"Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) convened the first ever Non-Governmental Online Conference on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), of which CPEC is the flagship, which was attended by 8 countries. The conference, which lasted for 2 hours and 45 minutes, had participants from Pakistan, China, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Myanmar & Sri Lanka. There was a wide-ranging discussion on different dimensions of BRI, which was followed by a 35-minute Question and Answer session.
Five key consensus areas regarding BRI emerged from the conference: The coronavirus crisis has underlined the need for global interdependence to forge closer cooperation to tackle common challenges; BRI is the way forward as it promotes regional connectivity, based on the principles of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit while acclaiming CPEC as "BRI success story".
The propaganda about the so called 'Debt trap' was rejected by participants as in the case of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, total debt from China is a very small percentage of what is owed to other countries or multilateral institutions; 'New Cold War', demonization or stigmatizing any country using COVID19 as a political weapon or targeting BRI on geopolitical grounds were rejected; The India factor was recognized by countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka as they are neighbors and they would like good relations with both China and India and it was made clear that neither BRI is a military alliance nor it is directed either against India or against any Western country.
Senator Mushahid Hussain, in his opening remarks, termed BRI as the biggest and most significant Diplomatic and Developmental initiative of 21st century. He said that CPEC, as flagship of BRI, is already a success story and has entered its the second phase successfully. Energy and infrastructure projects have been completed on schedule, 75,000 Pakistanis have got jobs in BRI projects and 28,000 Pakistani students are studying in China.
He also thanked China for support to Pakistan during COVID-19 crisis and he mentioned the two resolutions passed by the Pakistan Senate, February 12 and May 14, in which the parliament of Pakistan appreciated China's role and support. Afghanistan’s former Ambassador to Pakistan and China, Janan Musazai, gave a specific five-point plan for Afghanistan’s role in BRI and he referred to CPEC as well, since Afghanistan can be a land bridge for connectivity and he said that China could facilitate to provide market access for BRI countries..."
Source/publisher:
"china.org.cn" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-07-10
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
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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:
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Description:
"FOR the Southeast Asian state of Myanmar, the decision to expand ties with China despite Western pressure was a no-brainer. Significant economic ties have been expanded and the prospect for several large-scale infrastructure projects has been firmed up.
Chinese president Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Myanmar could be considered a victory lap of sorts; the cementing of long-standing and ever-expanding ties between Myanmar and China and the final displacement of significant US and British influence in the former British colony.
An op-ed on China’s CGTN website titled, ‘Xi’s New Year visit to Myanmar: A milestone in bilateral relations,’ would help frame the significance of president Xi’s visit while comparing and contrasting Myanmar’s ties with China and the US.
The op-ed would note that president Xi’s trip to Myanmar was his first major trip abroad made during 2020. It is also the first major visit by a Chinese leader to Myanmar in nearly 20 years. Even US proxies can’t deny America’s decline
THE op-ed also noted that Myanmar’s state counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, picked China for her first major visit abroad after her National League for Democracy party came to power in 2016.
To understand the significance of this it is important to understand that Suu Kyi and her rise to power were primarily driven by support from Washington.
She and her political party along with a large army of US government-funded fronts posing as nongovernmental organisations and US-funded media networks were selected and groomed for decades by Washington to seize power and serve as a vector for US special interests both in Myanmar itself and as a point of leverage versus Beijing.
However, despite America’s expertise in political meddling, what it lacks is, as the op-ed calls it, any concrete economic pillars; something China does have on offer.
No matter how much covert or overt financial and political support any client regime in Myanmar may receive from Washington it does not address the genuine need for real development within Myanmar itself. Without such development and the financial and economic incentives it brings with it, enemies and allies of the client regime alike will turn towards those who can offer such incentives..."
Source/publisher:
"newagebd.net"
Date of publication:
2020-07-02
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Burma's economic relations with the USA, China-Burma-US relations
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Description:
"Myanmar has decided to expedite India-backed infrastructure projects and widen security ties with India as it seeks to balance China's expanding presence in the country in the backdrop of Beijing's active cross-border support for rebel groups and push for early completion of BRI projects.
Myanmar’s all-powerful generals, who have controlled the country for decades, are upset with the Chinese strategy of arming rebel groups, including Islamic radicals. They are also upset with China's pressure on Myanmar to implement Belt-Road-Initiative (BRI) projects in spite of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, ET has learnt
China is planning a China-Myanmar-Economic Corridor (CMEC), on the lines of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), to get access to the Bay of Bengal and the eastern part of the Indian Ocean Region. Several other BRI related projects threaten to push Myanmar to a debt trap.
Speaking to journalists in Russia last month on the occasion of Victory Day parade, commander-in-chief of Myanmar armed forces Senior General Min Aung Hlaing called for international cooperation in the fight against terrorism, saying that terrorist groups exist because of “strong forces”
Many analysts in Myanmar say Gen Hlaing’scomment was targeted at China, which the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) suspects is continuing to provide arms to rebel groups on the Myanmar-China border and to the ArakanArmy (AA), which is now operating in northern Rakhine state as well as the radical ArakanRohingya Salvation Army. The general's comments broadly reflects the sentiment among the top military leadership of the armed forces in Naypyitaw, ET has learnt.Interestingly the comments were made in Russia -- Myanmar's old defence partner..."
Source/publisher:
"The Economic Times" (India)
Date of publication:
2020-07-09
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, India-China economic relations, Burma's economic relations with China, Burma's economic relations with India, China-Burma-India relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar has indirectly called out China for arming 'terrorists' on its soil. WION's Palki Sharma tells you how Myanmar fears that this situation could endanger Indian development projects along the Myanmar-Mizoram border..."
Source/publisher:
"WION"
Date of publication:
2020-07-02
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict and peace-building in Burma - theoretical, strategic and general, Burma's economic relations with China, “One Belt, One Road” initiative
Language:
more
Sub-title:
It’s important to distinguish between China and oversees ethnic Chinese when discussing three controversial projects in Kayin State, despite claims they are being implemented as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Description:
"Since 2019, the narrative about private Chinese investment in Myanmar’s illicit economy, especially casinos and online gambling in Kayin State, has become increasingly rampant, holding China responsible for the audacity of private Chinese investors.
However, a careful examination of the identity of the investors, their business background and registrations, as well as the management structure and funding sources of their operations, reveals a different reality: that these investments involve overseas ethnic Chinese through companies registered in Hong Kong with funding from outside China. Despite their efforts to paint their projects as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the investments are outside China’s jurisdiction and China should not be held accountable for their existence. Nevertheless, China should be wary of the damage that these projects pose to its national interests. It should distance itself from the projects and where possible take measures to oppose them.
Since 2019, three allegedly private Chinese investment projects in Kayin State’s Myawaddy Township have captured the attention – and imagination – of many Myanmar observers. The first and the most sensational is the Yatai New City Project at Shwe Kokko. More recently, the Saixigang Industrial Zone Project and the Huanya International City Project have emerged.
Despite their grandiose mission statements about tourism and industrial development, it is widely agreed that they are actually casino resorts and will host online gambling scam operations that primarily target Chinese users. These projects are the latest chapter of the broader spread of casinos and online gambling schemes throughout Southeast Asia, which came to Myanmar partially because of a government crackdown on such operations in Cambodia in 2019..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-25
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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:
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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
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:
"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
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:
"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:
"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
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:
"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
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
Sub-title:
Covid-19 pandemic has not slowed Beijing's increasingly crucial plan to build a railway connecting China to mainland SE Asia
Description:
"Under fire for bullying neighbors in the South China Sea, China is patting itself on the back for the progress it is making on the 411-kilometer China-Laos railway through a sparsely populated nation that has barely been touched by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The official Xinhua News Agency reported on April 25 that all the beams are now in place for the 1,458-meter Luang Prabang cross-Mekong super-bridge, one of the biggest undertakings on a track that includes 169 other bridges and 72 mountain-blasting tunnels.
Construction resumed on the signature Belt and Road project only 23 days after Vientiane’s communist government closed its borders on April 1 with China, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia in response to the discovery of its eighth Covid-19 case.
Although there is skepticism about the official figures, landlocked Laos still has only 19 confirmed coronavirus infections among its 7.3 million people, less than any of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) states, ahead of Cambodia (122), Myanmar (178) and Vietnam (288)..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-05-11
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Beijing is turbocharging its Belt and Road and other game-changing plans despite Covid-19 and US hybrid warfare
Description:
"Amid the deepest economic contraction in nearly a century, President Xi Jinping had already made it very clear, last month, that China should be ready for unprecedented, relentless foreign challenges.
He was not referring only to the possible decoupling of global supply chains and the non-stop demonization of every project related to the New Silk Roads, or Belt and Road Initiative.
An allegedly leaked internal document, secret and invisible inside China, but nonetheless obtained by some obscure Western-connected source, even stated, essentially, that the blame game against China over the virus is like the backlash over Tiananmen all over again.
According to the secret, invisible document, China would have to “prepare for armed confrontation between the two global powers” – a reference to the US. It’s as if this was an aggressive strategy deployed by the Chinese state in the first place, and not in response to the massive escalation of hybrid warfare 2.0 by the United States government..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-05-07
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative
Language:
more
Description:
"China’s ambassador to Myanmar pushed on Wednesday to gear up for the implementation of Beijing’s key infrastructure projects in Myanmar despite the fact that both countries’ economies are facing a significant slowdown due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai and Myanmar’s Deputy Minister for Planning, Finance and Industry U Set Aung met for ‘in-depth discussions’ Wednesday on the implementation of outcomes from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Myanmar in January, according to the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar. The Chinese Embassy said that the two discussed how to move forward on the development of China’s ambitious projects in Myanmar based on the Myanmar government’s COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (CERP). The projects discussed included New Yangon City, Kyaukphyu Deep-Sea Port and Industrial Zone and the China-Myanmar Border Economic Cooperation Zone.
Launched last week, the CERP seeks to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic by implementing new measures and response plans. The measures include steps to expedite the solicitation of strategic infrastructure projects and to approve and disclose large investments by reputable international firms that may be currently experiencing delays, through fast-track procedures..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-05-07
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative
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
Sub-title:
Southeast Asia expected to remain a focus as Beijing prioritizes home front
Description:
"The new coronavirus is straining economies to the breaking point, but China says its Belt and Road Initiative will proceed intact.
Analysts are not so sure.
Some think a weakened China will have little choice but to step back and reassess its foreign investments in the post-pandemic world. But a Belt and Road 2.0 could also present new opportunities to wield influence -- especially in Southeast Asia -- as the European Union and other investors nurse their own wounds. Despite the raging pandemic, China has not stopped committing to new infrastructure projects across the Southeast Asian bloc. In the months since the outbreak started, it has sealed deals for an $800,000 dam in Cambodia, a $22.4 million business park in Myanmar and a large solar energy farm in Laos.
"Keeping foreign trade and foreign investment stable is vitally important, as the Chinese economy has been deeply integrated into the world economy," state media quoted Premier Li Keqiang as saying on March 10..."
Source/publisher:
"Nikkei Asian Review" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2020-04-02
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative
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:
As Xi connects the region, Philippines weighs 'shutdown' risk
Description:
"Philippine Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has not been sleeping well.
"It is very difficult for us to sleep every night without lingering fears," he said in early February, as he presided over an investigation into potential security risks stemming from Chinese part-ownership of his country's power grid operator.
The Philippines is far from the only country running on China-backed electricity. As a complement to President Xi Jinping's signature Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, Beijing is pushing what it calls Global Energy Interconnection -- a vision of a multi-trillion-dollar worldwide electricity network.
China already has a number of power lines connected to other countries, including Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, while lines into Thailand, Pakistan and Bangladesh are under consideration. For emerging economies hampered by chronic electricity shortages, such investments may be a blessing.
Critics, however, worry that China's expanding presence in regional power grids could leave partner countries vulnerable.
Xi himself proposed Global Energy Interconnection in 2015 at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, as a way to meet the world's demand for clean power. Like the Belt and Road itself, China frames the concept as beneficial for everyone. "It increases mutual trust in politics and creates a new pattern of energy security featuring cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win results," says the website of the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization, or GEIDCO, the body leading the charge..."
Source/publisher:
"Nikkei Asian Review" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2020-03-03
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
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
Sub-title:
Indian and foreign media may have missed it but the US-India joint statement will most certainly be scrutinised closely by Beijing for anti-China content.
Description:
"Both the Indian and foreign media coverage of US President Donald Trump’s India visit went on and on about his mention of Delhi riots and Pakistan – but almost entirely overlooked the reference to the Blue Dot Network, which has given rise to growing unease in Beijing.
The mellifluous language of the joint statement centres on a ‘Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership’ tick boxing the expected military, space, and energy cooperation, as well as concern about the high debt situation in developing countries and the need for “responsible, transparent and sustainable financing practises”. That’s diplomatic language to refer to the dire situation faced by countries like Sri Lanka and the Maldives due to heavy debts to China.The next few lines refer to the Blue Dot Network as a “a multi-stakeholder initiative that will bring governments, the private sector, and civil society together to promote high-quality trusted standards for global infrastructure development”. That might seem rather tame, but here’s the carrot. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects that infrastructure development needs in the Indo-Pacific alone could be worth about $1.7 trillion per year through 2030. That’s what the Chinese are after. And now it seems, everyone else wants a slice of the pie, and the influence that goes with it..."
Source/publisher:
"The Print" (India)
Date of publication:
2020-02-28
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma-India relations, China-Burma-US 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
Sub-title:
China’s overseas projects funded by debt from its own infrastructure banks are now viewed with trepidation, by both recipient countries for the potential debt trap.
Description:
"Global business and strategy analysts will be watching with keen interest any attempts US President Donald Trump makes to convince India to join its ambitious plan to counter China’s ‘Silk Route’ programme of port and highway constructions. Last November, the US, Japan and Australia unveiled the ‘Blue Dot’ infrastructure network, ostensibly to certify and promote infrastructure development, but in reality, it was to take on China’s BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) that is currently building a chain of roads and ports connecting most of the world to Beijing. The Western alternative has been in the making for some time as nations have voiced alarm at the cheque-book diplomacy of China through its BRI projects and their security ramifications. Soon after Blue Dot’s launch, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross lost no time in pointing out that American direct investment into Asia had topped $1.6 trillion and that “our numbers will only get bigger”. It was quickly noted by China’s Global Times, which said, “Although China was not mentioned by name, it’s widely suspected that Washington’s new plan is directed against the China proposed BRI.” China’s pique is natural as analysts say Blue Dot could be backed with funding by Japan’s JICA and America’s newly founded International Development Finance Corporation and Ausaid, not to mention a host of global development finance windows backed by the West..."
Source/publisher:
"The New Indian Express" (India)
Date of publication:
2020-02-25
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, China-Burma-India relations, China-Burma-US relations
Language:
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:
"The six Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) countries agreed on the need to elevate their cooperation from rapid-expansion to a comprehensive stage as their foreign ministers met in Vientiane on Thursday.
The ministers of the MLC member countries - China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam – reached the agreement at their fifth meeting, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi told a press conference shortly after the meeting.
Participants welcomed the recommendation by the Global Centre for Mekong Study that the MLC countries jointly create the Mekong-Lancang Economic Development Belt.
The ministers reaffirmed the need to further enhance regional connectivity by jointly promoting the MLC Economic Development Belt and to explore the possibility of synergising the MLC Plan of Action on Connectivity with global transport infrastructure – the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Master Plan on Asean Connectivity (MPAC) 2025, and the Asean-China New Western Land-Sea Corridor..."
Source/publisher:
Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-23
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
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:
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Description:
"China has had a setback in its infrastructure building along the Mekong River after Thailand cancelled a project on the vital Southeast Asian waterway. But observers say that without more coordination between downstream countries, China’s influence in the region will continue to go unchallenged.
In a win for locals and activists concerned about the ecosystem and their livelihoods, Thailand’s cabinet called off the Lancang-Mekong Navigation Channel Improvement Project – also known as the Mekong “rapids blasting” project – along its border with Laos. Proposed back in 2000, the project aimed to blast and dredge parts of the Mekong riverbed to remove rapids so that it could be used by cargo ships, creating a link from China’s southwestern province of Yunnan to ports in Thailand, Laos and the rest of Southeast Asia.
But it drew strong opposition from local communities along the river and environmentalists, who feared it would destroy the already fragile ecosystem and would only benefit Chinese.
The decision two weeks ago came as a prolonged drought has seen the river drop to its lowest levels in 100 years, depleting fish stocks in downstream communities...."
Source/publisher:
"South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-02-22
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Assessment of hydropower projects in Burma/Myanmar, Dams and other projects on the Mekong and its tributories, Climate Change - Migration Global, The impact of climate change on the global environment
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
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:
"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
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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:
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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
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pdf
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570.92 KB (19 pages)
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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:
Lethal coronavirus outbreak highlights unforeseen risk of greater connectivity with China
Description:
"In mid-January, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a historic visit to Myanmar with a pocket full of promises.
Xi vowed to build and finance big new infrastructure projects to connect the two neighbors in unprecedented trade-promoting ways in a so-called China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, which if realized as envisioned would serve as a poster child for his wider Belt and Road Initiative in Southeast Asia.
Fast forward three weeks to the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed at least 25 and infected over 24,000 in China, has spread contagion panic worldwide – and has suddenly put those grand Myanmar plans into certain doubt, as Beijing looks inward to contain the epidemic and Naypyidaw weighs new downsides of greater bilateral connectivity. Like other nations Myanmar has suspended visas on arrival for Chinese tourists, while the national hotels and tourism ministry has asked travel agencies to stop providing services to all Chinese nationals.
Those measures could deal a hard blow to Myanmar’s nascent but crucial tourism industry. Chinese nationals accounted for over 17% of Myanmar’s documented 4.36 million visitors in 2019, a figure that is sure to fall drastically with the new visa ban..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-02-05
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Beijing is toning down its rhetoric for the grand plan and rethinking its massive international infrastructure programme, Raffaello Pantucci writes...Signs of a more modest approach from Xi Jinping’s trip to Myanmar when there was little official mention of an economic corridor involving the two countries.
Description:
"Absent from almost all of the official coverage around Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Myanmar was any mention of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM-EC).
A belt and road route before the Belt and Road Initiative existed, the corridor was a concept first mooted in the late 1990s but has largely gone nowhere. The bigger question this poses is whether this is a harbinger of China shedding its grander overambitious belt and road visions over the next decade for a more focused and logical set of bilateral engagements. Certainly there has been a toning down of rhetoric around the belt and road, an infrastructure vision to link economies into a China-centred trading network. While it remains a hot topic in Beijing and a sure-fire way for leaders of other countries to be seen to be aligning themselves with China, its scattered record of success has meant there has been rethinking about how this grand concept will continue to fit into Beijing’s foreign policy repertoire. It continues to be a convenient tag for Chinese diplomats to use given its broad and positive conceptual basis but, it is not clear that China wants to continue to talk in the expansive corridor terms that it used to..."
Source/publisher:
"South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-02-03
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
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Sub-title:
Continued mistrust of China – including from the Tatmadaw – ensured that there was little significant progress during President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Myanmar.
Description:
"On January 17, Xi Jinping became the first Chinese president to travel to Myanmar in 19 years when he paid a two-day state visit. Although Xi visited Myanmar in 2009, it was the first time he had travelled here as president.
The importance of the visit was heightened by the fact that the two countries are marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year – newly independent Burma was the first non-communist country to recognise the People’s Republic of China.
During his visit Xi met top Myanmar officials including President U Win Myint, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and attended signing ceremonies for a number of agreements and memoranda of understanding.
But did China gain what it expected from the visit? And what does it mean for China-Myanmar relations?
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-05
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Other Special Economic Zones
Language:
more
Sub-title:
It doesn’t have many friendly nations to help it balance ties with Beijing
Description:
"Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Myanmar last week is a vivid indicator of the region’s changing geopolitics, reflecting adversely on the West and its allies. Its real significance transcends the 33 agreements signed, although it is an impressive number in itself for a short sojourn of a day and a half.
President Xi took his own time in coming to the southern neighbour which had to be content with largely one-way VVIP traffic, as Myanmar’s top leaders travelled to Beijing with noticeable regularity. As the Vice-President, he had visited Myanmar in 2009. The last visit by a Chinese President took place in 2001. The 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations was judged to be the ideal occasion to launch a major renewal and strengthen the process of the bilateral relationship.
U. Nu, the first prime minister of Burma (Myanmar’s previous name), famously depicted his country’s position in the region as “hemmed in like a tender gourd amongst the cacti.” Then, it chose the policy of independence and non-alignment. Does the red-carpet treatment extended to the President of China show that today’s Myanmar, jointly led by Aung San Suu Kyi and the military, has taken sides?..."
Source/publisher:
"The Hindu" (India)
Date of publication:
2020-01-23
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Other Special Economic Zones, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Topic:
Belt And Road, India, Myanmar
Sub-title:
China’s inroads in Myanmar through its Belt and Road Initiative are forcing India to rethink its connectivity with Southeast Asia.
Topic:
Belt And Road, India, Myanmar
Description:
"On January 17 and 18, China’s President Xi Jinping visited Myanmar, the first visit by a Chinese president to Myanmar in 19 years. Xi Jinping’s visit brought both the status of India-Myanmar and China-Myanmar relations to the forefront of public consciousness.
During the visit, a number of agreements were signed between both the countries, among them were several infrastructure projects and the extension of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to Myanmar. China has proposed the construction of a China-Myanmar Economic Corridor and the development of Myanmar’s deep sea port at Kyaukpyu.
China’s strategic and economic expansion on India’s doorstep is a cause of concern for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BRI extension into Myanmar creates a strategic challenge for India which needs to be considered from three points of view – Myanmar as a part of India’s Act East Policy, challenges to land connectivity and the need to develop a maritime gateway..."
Source/publisher:
"ASEAN Today" (Singapore)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with India, China-Burma-India relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Irrespective of India’s Look East, US sanctions or UK sanctions in Myanmar, China has been out there in Myanmar, parked with a consistent policy and focus—and backed by economic muscle. When the mighty fall, they fall hard! What greater irony than witness the beacon of democracy, Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, defend the country’s military against genocide (of the Rohingya people, a Muslim minority) at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and inch towards China’s orbit? Over the last decade, Myanmar has been open to the West, to India and the larger neighbourhood. Pragmatically speaking, because of the Rohingya issue, the ensuing sanctions and the clampdown by the West, Myanmar sees an economic lifeline in China. But China aside, Myanmar will continue to hedge its bets with other countries. The talk of Myanmar gravitating towards China’s orbit has emerged following President Xi Jinping’s two-day trip to Myanmar, a ‘historical moment’, as Xi called it. The trip, the first in 19 years by a Chinese leader, visibly shored up China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Myanmar, with 33 China-Myanmar deals inked through memorandums of understanding (MoU) and agreements. Xi also met military chief General Min Aung Hlaing, singled out for sanctions by the US for the abuses against the Rohingyas..."
Source/publisher:
"The Financial Express" (Uttar Pradesh)
Date of publication:
2020-02-01
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, “One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Chinese investment
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The trip produced a mixed outlook for New Delhi’s perceptions of Beijing’s inroads in the wider Indo-Pacific.
Description:
"Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded a two-day visit to Myanmar, the first for Xi in his current capacity and his first overseas visit of 2020. Viewed from the perspective of growing Chinese inroads in the Indian Ocean, Xi’s trip spotlighted Beijing’s continued efforts to make geopolitical gains in line with its broader regional interests, which will be of concern to India.
While there may have been some surprise about Xi’s choice of Myanmar for his trip, it is in fact in line with China’s continued interest in making inroads with respect to the Indian Ocean. With the Myanmar visit, Xi has effectively completed his key neighborhood trips, having traveled through the Maldives and Sri Lanka in 2014, Pakistan in 2015, Bangladesh in 2016, and Nepal in 2019.
From India’s perspective, New Delhi can be none too pleased with China’s constant forays into the wider Indian Ocean region. But at least for now, India appears to be letting Myanmar’s natural caution limit China’s influence.
The significance of Xi’s trip ought not to be understated. It has been nearly two decades since a Chinese leader has traveled to Myanmar. While consolidating political and strategic ties are important for China, like in Nepal, there has been skepticism in Myanmar about partnering with China on the Belt and Road projects. But at the same time, given the difficult times that Myanmar is faced with internationally, clearly Myanmar is looking for support from China, which comes at a price.
Consolidation and implementation of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor was an important item in Xi’s Myanmar agenda and China has been quite successful on that front as the joint statement clearly outlined. China has other security interests as well, seeing Myanmar as a potential gateway to the Indian Ocean..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan) via "Observer Research Foundation (ORF)" (India)
Date of publication:
2020-01-24
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-01
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:
China’s banks supporting BRI projects should apply environmental risk-management policies and oversight, says Divya Narain
Description:
"China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is intended to catalyse the economies of countries around the globe.
Yet BRI projects overlap some of the most ecologically fragile places on earth. The multi-trillion-dollar initiative – to build transcontinental networks of roads, railways and ports, studded with dams, mines, power plants, and solar and wind farms – has its environmental impacts. These include air and water pollution, soil contamination and erosion, habitat and wildlife loss.
For project developers and funders, failure to address these impacts can translate into regulatory and reputational risks. So they need to take mitigation seriously.
Risks confronting developers can include penalties, legal action and backlash from communities causing project delays and even closures. According to a 2018 study, 14% of BRI projects in 66 countries have faced some kind of local pushback..."
Source/publisher:
"Chinadialogue" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-01-30
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-31
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:
more
Sub-title:
Nation’s most volatile and fast shifting armed conflict complicates China’s Belt and Road ambitions
Description:
"Historically ethnic conflict in modern Myanmar has been a glacially slow-moving disaster, debilitating the nation’s politics while shifting only incrementally from one decade to the next.
In 2019, the eruption, spread and intensification of nationalist revolt in Rakhine state abruptly upended that familiar landscape with sobering implications for an already fragmented and floundering peace process and domestic security more broadly.
The new war in Rakhine state, pitting the military against the local Arakan Army (AA), a widely popular force led by a young and ideologically committed leadership, is also increasingly impacting Myanmar’s regional standing at a range of levels. China’s push for economic connectivity to the Bay of Bengal, stage-center during President Xi Jinping’s recent state visit to Myanmar, will now need to navigate the hostilities already lapping close to the projected deep-sea port and special economic zone at Kyaukphyu, a crucial component of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Poor prospects for any repatriation of the Muslim Rohingya refugee population camped in neighboring Bangladesh, estimated as high as one million, are now further receding, while additional migrant flows out of the state towards Southeast Asia are slowly gathering pace..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-01-29
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State, “One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Other Special Economic Zones, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"China’s growing strategic ties with Myanmar, evident from Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping’s recent sojourn to the administrative capital of Naypyidaw, are causing consternation in New Delhi.
Not only is Beijing’s outreach to Myanmar challenging India’s Neighborhood First policy, which seeks vigorous engagement with Myanmar and other South Asian neighbors, it is also an attempt to gain a back door to the Indian Ocean, foreign policy analysts say, describing it as ominous for geopolitical landscape of the Indian Ocean, apart from the ramifications for the US-led Indo-Pacific strategy, which seeks to keep China’s regional ambitions in check.
The US administration of President Donald Trump has simply ignored the country along with much of the rest of Asia after overtures by Barack Obama, who initiated diplomatic relations, suspended economic sanctions and laid on high-level visits in the wake of then-President Thein Sein’s attempt to build on the 2010 constitution with reforms and open the country to global investment. With Myanmar facing international sanctions over its near genocide against minority Rohingya Muslims and other countries backing away, China has stepped into the vacuum.
Although Xi’s trip to Myanmar was described as a “goodwill visit” to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, pretty much like all things Chinese, there was a considerable agenda..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Sentinel"
Date of publication:
2020-01-28
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma-India relations, Burma's economic relations with China, Burma's economic relations with India, “One Belt, One Road” initiative
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The guns of civil conflict fell silent during the visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping – a pause in fighting that not even State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi can achieve.
Description:
"WEEKS before the visit by President Xi Jinping, local media outlets were focusing on the relationship between China and Myanmar.
I especially enjoyed two cartoons drawn by Myanmar cartoonists before Xi arrived.
One showed a fat Chinese man dressed in red talking to three men sitting on the floor. “When we visit, we don’t want to hear any noises,” he’s saying. The three men, who are wearing uniforms and have rifles beside them, reply, “Yes”.
The other cartoon is in two blocks, one above the other. The top one shows rats running in circles and antagonising each other. The bottom image shows the rats all smiles with arms around each other’s shoulders as a big red cat clad in the flag of the People’s Republic of China enters the room with a stern expression.
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The cartoons were caustic comments on the recent quiescence of ethnic armed groups. In the days ahead of Xi’s arrival, the guns of war were indeed silent..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-26
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-30
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, “One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has vowed to “solve” persistent gunrunning to Myanmar insurgents
Description:
"When Chinese President Xi Jinping met Myanmar’s military commander-in-chief Senior General Ming Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw earlier this month, it was not clear which of the two raised the issue first. But side-stepping the 800 pound gorilla in the room — new Chinese weaponry fueling Myanmar’s civil wars — was never going to be an option.
Over the past year, those Chinese weapons have cost the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, hundreds of lives. And as the fighting season gathers pace in western Rakhine state, the likelihood of another high death toll in 2020 will cast a long shadow in army circles over the triumphant hailing of a “new era” in Sino-Myanmar amity and cooperation that attended Xi’s historic state visit. Almost certainly not by coincidence, the day before the January 18 meeting – the sixth meeting between Xi and Min Aung Hlaing — the Tatmadaw’s public relations wing ensured that the “discovery” of a rebel cache of Chinese munitions made on January 15 in Hsenwi township in northern Shan state received wide media publicity..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-01-28
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations, Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Transparency must be improved and deep concerns addressed, says former presidential adviser Aung Tun Thet...A raft of infrastructure deals have just been signed, including for a strategically important deep-sea port project.
Description:
"Chinese companies need to improve transparency when they invest in Myanmar, a former presidential adviser in the Southeast Asian nation said, after the two sides signed a slew of infrastructure deals.
Deep public concerns in Myanmar, especially over Beijing’s intentions in the country, must also be addressed, Aung Tun Thet told the South China Morning Post.
“It’s very important that people understand, because what has happened in the past is people do not know what went on, and because they don’t know, then they get worried,” said the prominent economist in Myanmar and adviser to former president Thein Sein. “They get worried not because they object to anything, they get worried because they don’t know what is going on,” he said. “I think a lot of work needs to be done to convince the general population … that it is for the good of the country and it’s good for the people.”..."
Source/publisher:
"South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-01-28
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Chinese investment, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Four priority BRI projects in Myanmar promise to make China a balance-of-power tilting Indian Ocean force
Description:
"Chinese President Xi Jinping’s historic visit to Myanmar this month did not attract much regional media buzz, with most reports portraying the trip as more well-worn official promotion of his signature US$1 trillion Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
But if the four most important of 33 agreements Xi signed with his Myanmar hosts during his tour are actually implemented – a big if considering BRI’s spotty follow through on ballyhooed projects – they would have far-reaching economic, political and strategic implications for South and Southeast Asia.
The first of those big four are ambitious plans to build a high-speed railroad from Myanmar’s northern border with southern China down to the central city of Mandalay and eventually to Myanmar’s southern coast. The second aims to push forward the stalled Kyaukphyu port project situated on the Bay of Bengal, an initiative that would give China de facto access to the Indian Ocean and shift that region’s strategic calculus, particularly vis-à-vis India.
The third is a proposed mega-project to build a “new city” opposite Myanmar’s former capital Yangon, a scheme that would effectively give China a unique hold on the nation’s commercial hub and underscore Beijing’s tightening grip on the country’s broad economy..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-01-27
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-29
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:
International Court of Justice ordered emergency steps to protect Rohingya, threatening Myanmar’s European trade privileges...China accounts for a quarter of all foreign direct investment into Myanmar, second only to Singapore, government data shows.
Description:
"Myanmar signalled that closer ties with China offer an economic buffer if human-rights concerns cause Western nations to curb trade privileges or investment.
The persecution of the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority has sparked global condemnation, and led to an International Court of Justice order last week for emergency steps to protect Rohingya from genocide. The controversy imperils Myanmar’s European trade privileges and is spurring calls for sanctions.
“The more sanctions Western countries impose on us, the more likely that is to boost our ties with our Asian alliances,” Commerce Minister Than Myint said in an interview in the capital, Naypyidaw. “We’ve opened the door to everyone.” During President Xi Jinping’s visit to Myanmar earlier in January – the first state visit by a Chinese leader in almost two decades – the two countries agreed to expedite several projects as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Yet a tightening embrace of China risks leaving Myanmar overreliant on its giant neighbour, a concern that has long vexed some officials.
“When it comes to mega projects, we always want to see more options,” Than Myint said in the January 21 interview. “So we usually encourage Western companies not to be worried about doing business here. If they decide not to come, then we will have no choice but to cooperate with Asian partners.”
In records going back to 1988, China accounts for a quarter of all foreign direct investment into Myanmar, second only to Singapore, government data shows..."
Source/publisher:
"Bloomberg News" (New York) via "South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-01-27
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), “One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has been a recurrent hostage to downturns in India-Pakistan relations, which has often led New Delhi to turn to subregional initiatives, as has been witnessed by the current prime minister’s invitation to the member countries of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to his swearing-in ceremony last year. BIMSTEC comprises five countries in South Asia – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka – and two in Southeast Asia, Myanmar and Thailand.
Going by the past records, India’s approach to subregional initiatives has been marred by a lack of leadership, resources and institutionalization. For instance, it took 17 years for BIMSTEC to establish a permanent secretariat in Dhaka, in 2014. Similarly, the Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM) remained a Track II initiative for India until 2013 despite the rhetoric as to the perceived importance of subregional groupings. However, India is poised to focus more on subregional initiatives considering that the possibility of a resurrection of SAARC seems remote. New Delhi’s endeavor in this direction, nonetheless, has met a powerful tide from the reverse direction in the shape of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-01-23
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Burma's economic relations with India, China-Burma-India relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
For Delhi, the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor derails efforts to discredit the Belt and Road Initiative
Description:
"The state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Myanmar on January 17-18, the first of its kind in 19 years, was a transformative event in regional politics from the perspective of China-Myanmar bilateral relations as well as regional security, something that should be of major concern for India.
A “comprehensive strategic partnership” is moving toward building a “Myanmar-China community with a shared future based on the aims of mutual benefits, equality and win-win cooperation,” as the joint statement issued after Xi’s visit frames it.
Xi said in his banquet speech in the capital Naypyidaw that the reason the “Paukphaw (fraternal) friendship between the two countries can last thousands of years” is that they have “stood together through thick and thin, and adhered to mutual respect and mutual benefit.” He urged the two countries to be “good neighbors like passengers on the same boat” and create a more favorable environment for their economic and social development..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-01-24
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma-India relations, “One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Burma's economic relations with India
Language:
more
Description:
"The flags of China and Myanmar waved side by side along the roads of Myanmar’s capital city over the weekend, as Chinese Paramount Leader Xi Jinping visited the Buddhist-majority nation to draw it more tightly into China’s orbit.
“Let us work hand in hand to build an even closer China-Myanmar community with a shared future and write a new chapter for our millennia-old ‘pauk-phaw’ friendship,” Xi wrote in Myanmar’s Myanma Alinn Daily on the eve of his trip, using a phrase meaning “fraternal” in the Burmese language. Xi’s “hand in hand” work with Myanmar’s leadership over the following two days resulted in the signing of 33 agreements that will accelerate construction of infrastructure projects related to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. This is the project China brands as a 21st-century version of the ancient Silk Road, to facilitate trade across Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The most notable Myanmar-based bri projects are a railway running from China to Kyaukpyu on Myanmar’s west coast, and a full-scale operational deep-sea port there..."
Source/publisher:
"The Trumpet" (USA)
Date of publication:
2020-01-22
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Chinese investment, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Some of Myanmar’s ethnic political parties on Wednesday expressed concern over potential negative impacts of China’s planned multibillion-dollar mega-projects in their regions, days after the two countries’ leaders signed more than 30 memorandums of understanding regarding the deals.
Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed 33 MoUs for Chinese-backed projects in the Southeast Asia country, many of which fall under the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), on Jan. 18, the second day of the Xi’s two-day state visit to Myanmar.
Among the deals signed was a concession and shareholders agreement on the U.S. $1.3 billion-dollar Kyaukphyu deep-sea port and economic zone in Rakhine state, a letter of intent for a new urban development in the commercial hub Yangon, an MoU on local cooperation under the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) between southwest China and Myanmar’s Mandalay region, and feasibility studies for high-speed rail links and expressways, according to the official Global New Light of Myanmar.
A signature policy of Xi’s, the multitrillion-dollar BRI infrastructure investment and lending program that will link China with Asia, Africa, and Europe entails the building of border economic cooperation zones in Myanmar’s war-torn Shan and Kachin states..."
Source/publisher:
"Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
Date of publication:
2020-01-22
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Topic:
Rakhine State, Myitsone Dam, Myanmar, Xi Jinping
Topic:
Rakhine State, Myitsone Dam, Myanmar, Xi Jinping
Description:
"A high-speed rail line to the east, a deep-sea port to the west, and a makeover for commercial heart Yangon -- Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrives in Myanmar on Friday laden with investment pledges worth billions which could reshape the country. Here are five of the main projects -- and some of the issues plaguing them:
The crown jewel of Xi's two-day visit will be a $1.3 billion deep-sea port off Myanmar's troubled western Rakhine state.
The Kyaukphyu port will serve as Beijing's gateway to the Indian Ocean. Myanmar has successfully hammered down the price from $7.2 billion to swerve fears of a Chinese debt-trap, but will still pick up 30 percent of the bill.
Alongside the port, swathes of paddy fields and teak forests are poised to be transformed into a vast industrial zone of garment and food processing factories.
Officials insist ethnic Rakhine will be the first in line for some of the 400,000 jobs the zone is slated to bring -- but many suspect the benefits will mainly be siphoned off outside the state.
The port is the centre piece of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) project -- a key thread in China's global Belt and Road vision..."
Source/publisher:
"The Economic Times" (India)
Date of publication:
2020-01-15
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Chinese investment, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Chinese President Xi Jinping ended a two-day state visit to Myanmar on Saturday after attending the signing of a raft of agreements buttressing bilateral relations and advancing Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, in which his host country is a key player.
The two sides exchanged memoranda of understanding, letters and protocols covering 33 projects in the fields of information, industry, agriculture, security and the resettlement of internally displaced people in Myanmar’s war-torn Kachin State, which borders China.
The agreements were signed after a morning meeting between Xi and Myanmar’s leader, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.
READ MORE: To call China’s Belt and Road Initiative a ‘debt trap’ is prejudiced, says ex-ambassador to U.S.
The most significant pact appeared to be a concession and shareholder’s agreement for the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone on the Bay of Bengal. With a deep-water port, it is the terminus of the 1,700-kilometre- (1,055-mile-) long China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, a major link in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative whose other end is in China’s Yunnan province..."
Source/publisher:
"Associated Press" (USA) via "Global News" (Toronto)
Date of publication:
2020-01-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"China and Myanmar exchanged a number of cooperation documents covering such areas as politics, trade, investment and people-to-people communications amid President Xi Jinping's state visit on Saturday.
The exchange ceremony was attended by Xi and Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. The two countries issued a joint statement the same day.
In his talks with Aung San Suu Kyi, Xi said the two countries should speed up connecting development strategies and jointly push the building of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor.
Hailing the corridor as a flagship project for Belt and Road cooperation between the two countries, Xi said the two sides have initiated construction and the project should bring benefits to the people as soon as possible.
The two countries should focus on the building of major projects and promote connectivity, Xi said, adding the two sides should integrate the building of roads, railways and electricity projects to formulate a network of connectivity.
Xi pointed out China welcomes Myanmar to expand exports to China, and Chinese companies are encouraged to increase investment in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"China Daily" (Beijing)
Date of publication:
2020-01-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-21
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:
"China and Myanmar agreed to accelerate several joint infrastructure deals and projects during President Xi Jinping’s historic visit to the country, giving new impetus to commercial relations that have revived under Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Xi visited Myanmar on January 17 and 18, marking the first time a Chinese leader traveled to the Southeast Asian country in nearly two decades and coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the two sides establishing formal diplomatic relations.
The two governments inked 33 agreements involving key infrastructure projects while agreeing to accelerate the implementation of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor scheme, part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Most significantly, the two sides agreed to concession and shareholder agreements for the China-backed port project at Kyaukphyu in central Rakhine state. There are five agreements still to be signed on the project, according to Myanmar Deputy Commerce Minister Aung Htoo.
The deals are controversial, however, and could expose China to future political risks. Tun Kyi, coordinator of the community group Kyaukphyu Rural Development Association, said local villagers were not consulted during the negotiations of the two new agreements..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-01-21
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-21
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:
Beijing seeks to cement its hold over its neighbour increasingly isolated by West amid Rohingya crisis
Description:
"China and Myanmar yesterday inked dozens of deals related to Belt and Road Initiative to speed up infrastructure projects in the Southeast Asian nation, as Beijing seeks to cement its hold over a neighbour 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 neighbour..."
Source/publisher:
"The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication:
2020-01-19
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with China, “One Belt, One Road” initiative, China-Burma relations, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Xi Jinping’s visit – and the billions in development and investment deals signed – opens the door to greater stability in the region
Description:
"China and Myanmar have a long and complex history. But President Xi Jinping’s just-ended two-day visit, his inaugural foreign trip of the year and the first to the country by a Chinese leader in 19 years, was aimed at taking ties to a new level of friendship and trust, with mutual benefit at the core. On the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Xi and Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi signed 33 agreements shoring up key projects that are part of Beijing’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 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. Completion of the projects will mean faster and more reliable delivery of crucial energy supplies to China from the Middle East and Africa while increasing Chinese infrastructure and investment opportunities, and for Myanmar, there will be development and jobs..."
Source/publisher:
"South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-01-19
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The pacts were signed during president Xi Jinping’s two-day visit to Myanmar, a first by a Chinese president in almost two decades...This will give a significant push to China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative to which Myanmar had signed onto in 2018 amid lack of investments from western countries.
Description:
"China and Myanmar, over the weekend, signed 33 bilateral agreements that are expected to strengthen ties between India’s eastern neighbor and Beijing.
The accords include those to construct a rail link and a deep-sea port – part of a China-Myanmar-Economic Corridor – that runs from China’s south-western region to the Bay of Bengal. This will give a significant push to China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative to which Myanmar had signed onto in 2018 amid lack of investments from western countries.
The pacts were signed during president Xi Jinping’s two-day visit to Myanmar, a first by a Chinese president in almost two decades. Xi’s visit to Myanmar was also his first abroad in the 2020 calendar year.
The pacts were signed against the backdrop of Myanmar State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi coming under increasing pressure from Western countries over its crackdown on Rohingya Muslims. A Myanmar military campaign in 2017-18 caused some 730,000 Rohingyas from Rakhine state to flee to Bangladesh. In December, Nobel Laureate Suu Kyi defended her country’s human rights record vis a vis the Rohingyas at a hearing at the Hague-based International Court of Justice and a ruling in expected this month..."
Source/publisher:
"livemint" (New Delhi)
Date of publication:
2020-01-20
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma-India relations, Burma's economic relations with China, Burma's economic relations with India, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, “One Belt, One Road” initiative
Language:
more
Description:
"China and Myanmar inked dozens of deals on Saturday to speed up infrastructure projects as Beijing seeks to cement its hold over a neighbor increasingly isolated by the West.
But no major new projects were agreed on during the two-day visit by President Xi Jinping, the first of any Chinese leader in 19 years. Analysts said Myanmar is generally cautious of investments by Beijing and is 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) via "Japan Times" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2020-01-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, Burma's economic relations with China, Other Special Economic Zones, “One Belt, One Road” initiative
Language:
more
Description:
"China and Myanmar inked dozens of deals to speed up infrastructure projects in the South-East Asian nation, as Beijing seeks to cement its hold over a neighbour 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 yesterday 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.
At a welcoming ceremony on Friday, Xi hailed a “new era” of relations between the countries.
“We are drawing a future roadmap that will bring to life bilateral relations based on brotherly and sisterly closeness in order to overcome hardships together and provide assistance to each other, ” Xi said..."
Source/publisher:
"The Star Online" (Selangor)
Date of publication:
2020-01-19
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Chinese president’s two-day trip comes as nations mark 70 years of diplomatic ties...US sanctions on Myanmar’s military leaders over alleged ‘serious human rights abuses’ described as a blow to Southeast Asian nation’s dignity.
Description:
"Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Myanmar this week is special in several ways. It is Xi’s first overseas trip of the year and the first visit to the Southeast Asian country by a Chinese president since 2001. This year also marks the 70th anniversary of formal diplomatic ties between the two countries.
A recent Xinhua commentary said that “a good neighbour is better than a far dwelling relative”, referring to China’s ties with Myanmar. Some observers view geopolitics concerning Myanmar in black-and-white terms: a National League for Democracy (NLD) government would lead to closer ties with the West and less so with China. The Rakhine issue effectively put paid to such earlier prognosis. If anything, there has yet to be any respite to the general downturn in relations between Myanmar and the West. In fact, the situation has worsened.
Following a round of sanctions by Western powers in 2018, the US treasury department last month imposed new sanctions against Myanmar’s top military leaders over alleged “serious human rights abuses”, a move that Myanmar’s military (the Tatmadaw) criticised as “targeted political pressure” which “hurt the dignity” of the military. A month earlier, the Tatmadaw was accused by the US of possessing chemical weapons..."
Source/publisher:
"South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-01-19
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma-US relations, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, Burma's economic relations with China, “One Belt, One Road” initiative, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Deal strengthens ties with Beijing as Aung San Suu Kyi faces foreign criticism for Rohingya crackdown
Description:
"Myanmar and China on Saturday signed 33 bilateral agreements that will bind the south-east Asian country closer to its giant neighbour, including rail and deep-sea port projects along an economic corridor linking China’s south-western interior to the Indian Ocean.
Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, and Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi agreed the projects — long under discussion as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative global infrastructure plan — on the second day of Mr Xi’s two-day visit to the capital Naypyidaw.
The agreements’ signing reflects deepening ties between Myanmar and China at a time when Aung San Suu Kyi’s government is under intense criticism internationally for the 2017-8 military campaign targeting minority Rohingya in Rakhine state, which killed thousands and exiled more than 730,000.
As part of China’s signature BRI project for the country, the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, the two sides on Saturday signed agreements on railways linking China to Kyaukpyu on the Bay of Bengal in Rakhine, and a final agreement on the building of a deep-sea port there.
The two sides also inked agreements providing for a special economic zone at the Chinese border and made oblique reference to New Yangon City, a planned new industrial quarter in Myanmar’s biggest city that the Chinese state-owned construction company CCCC has proposed building..."
Source/publisher:
"Financial Times" ( London)
Date of publication:
2020-01-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-19
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:
"Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday called on China and Myanmar to maintain and develop their "Paukphaw" friendship, push forward bilateral cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and bring more benefits to the two nations.
Xi made the remarks during a meeting with Myanmar's Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Min Aung Hlaing in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.
The development of bilateral ties depends on the cooperation of the two peoples, and also the two militaries, Xi said. The Chinese president expressed his hope that the Myanmar military can enhance exchanges with the Chinese side to jointly safeguard the peace and stability of their shared border, and establish good conditions in order to boost the border's economic development. "China and Myanmar are champions of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. China has always insisted on not interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and respecting the development path chosen by the people of all countries," he said.
"The two sides should continue to understand and support each other, strengthen cooperation, firmly safeguard our respective sovereignty, security and development interests, safeguard our common legitimate rights and interests, and safeguard the basic principles of international relations. China will continue to speak up for Myanmar in the international community," Xi continued..."
Source/publisher:
"China Global Television Network (CGTN)" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-01-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Trip helps cement ‘new era’ for Beijing’s ties with its neighbour, which is facing growing international criticism over its treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority...Agreements see multibillion plan for Kyaukphyu port revived – a step that could allow China to bypass the Strait of Malacca where its South China Sea claims have faced a growing backlash.
Description:
"Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his visit to Myanmar on Saturday after signing multibillion-dollar infrastructure deals, including one for a strategically important port in the Indian Ocean.
This investment and what both sides hailed as “new era” in relations offered a timely boost for Myanmar, which is facing increasing isolation from the West over its treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority.
Following his arrival in the purpose-built capital of Naypyidaw on Friday afternoon, Xi met a number of key figures, including President Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi, the effective head of the government, as well as military chief General Min Aung Hlaing. He also meet politicians from areas, some racked by ethnic conflict, where Chinese infrastructure projects are being planned or are under way.According to local media, the two sides signed 33 memorandums of understanding, agreements, exchange letters and protocols, 13 of which were related to infrastructure.
In a move that observers said could further cement Beijing’s economic and political influence, the two sides also agreed to push forward plans to develop the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, most notably the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone along the coast of the Bay of Bengal..."
Source/publisher:
"South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-01-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-19
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:
"Along the Bay of Bengal on the west tip of Myanmar, the town of Kyaukpyu in Rakhine State sits tranquilly on a 25-meter deep harbor.
This deep-sea port, surrounded by superb natural conditions, could be developed into another demonstration project under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), mutually benefiting both Myanmar and China.
During Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Myanmar on Jan. 17-18, the two sides agreed to strengthen their BRI cooperation, and work hard to push forward the construction of the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ), according to a joint statement issued by the two countries on Saturday.
Master plan
In 2014, the Myanmar government invited bidders from around the world for its plan to set up the Kyaukpyu SEZ, one of the country's three national SEZs, in an effort to kick-start the local economy and raise living standards.
The master plan includes a deep-sea port and an accompanying industrial park nearby.
In 2015, a consortium of six companies led by the China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) won the tender for building the Kyaukpyu SEZ. Three years later, after a marathon of negotiations, the CITIC-led consortium struck a framework agreement with Myanmar on the project..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China) via "China.org.cn" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-01-19
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Other Special Economic Zones, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Myanmar President U Win Myint here on Friday, stressing the importance of the "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship between the two countries.
Xi said that Myanmar turns to be the destination of his first overseas trip this year when the two countries celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties, highlighting the great importance of the "Paukphaw" friendship and deepening bilateral ties.
The Chinese president said he hopes that his visit could send three messages as follows:
First, the Chinese government and people firmly support the Myanmar government and people in pursuing development path suited to its own national conditions and continuously promoting the country's development.
Second, the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Myanmar has enjoyed sound foundation, and joint efforts to build a China-Myanmar community with a shared future will inject new impetus and vitality into the development of bilateral relations.
Third, China stands ready to work together with Myanmar in advancing practical cooperation, speeding up the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Myanmar development strategies, so as to bring more benefits to the two peoples..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-01-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of China-Myanmar diplomatic relations. As friendly neighbors, Myanmar has been generally associated with the silk road, which originated in China, throughout history and the friendship of two countries keeps vibrant thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
In ancient times, Myanmar was a transportation hub of both the southwestern Silk Road between China, Myanmar and India and the Maritime Silk Road, bringing great convenience to trade between China, the Indian Ocean and the western world.
The long-term friendly bilateral economic ties have laid a foundation for Myanmar to participate in BRI in the new century.
In 2015, Myanmar joined the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as one of the founding members. The two countries then signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly build the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) in 2018, aiming to further enhance bilateral pragmatic cooperation within the framework of BRI..."
Source/publisher:
"China Global Television Network (CGTN)" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-01-17
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Other Special Economic Zones, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Topic:
Belt and Road initiative, BRI, China, China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, CMEC, Kachin State, Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone, Myitkyina Economic Development Zone, Myitsone Dam, Xi Jinping
Topic:
Belt and Road initiative, BRI, China, China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, CMEC, Kachin State, Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone, Myitkyina Economic Development Zone, Myitsone Dam, Xi Jinping
Description:
"Nearly 40 civil society organizations (CSOs) have called on Chinese President Xi Jinping to permanently terminate the suspended Myitsone Dam project, saying that the project threatens the prosperity of the Myanmar people and that friendly relations between the two countries will deteriorate if the project goes ahead.
On Wednesday, civil society organizations, mostly based in Kachin State, issued an open letter to Xi, two days before his planned visit to Myanmar.
The visit aims to pave the way for Xi’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in Myanmar and includes plans for a dozen agreements, including around the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which will grant China access to the Indian Ocean. A final decision on the controversial Myitsone Dam project may also be on the agenda for the visit.
“We will have to lose more and more if the project is revived. Local residents have already suffered enough because of the project. We want to stop the project permanently,” Tu Hkawng, project coordinator for civil society organization Airavati, told The Irrawaddy. “We will never agree to restarting the Myitsone project.”..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-01-16
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Other Special Economic Zones, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that China firmly supports Myanmar in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions.
He made the remarks during talks with Myanmar President U Win Myint in the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw, stressing the importance of the "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship and deepening bilateral ties between the two countries.
President Xi arrived in Myanmar earlier Friday for a state visit, making it his first overseas trip in 2020 and the first visit to the Southeast Asian nation by a Chinese president after 19 years.
Hailing the strong foundation of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, Xi called for joint efforts to build a China-Myanmar community with a shared future and advance cooperation of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework..."
Source/publisher:
"China Global Television Network (CGTN)" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-01-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
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Description:
"The two governments will sign dozens of economic agreements. Naypyidaw represents a crucial junction for the Chinese "two oceans" strategy. Many Burmese, including even army generals, have developed a deep fear of China. It is widely believed that China wants a weak and unstable Myanmar in order to maintain control and influence. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives today in Myanmar for a two-day visit with a strong geopolitical significance, in the year in which the two countries celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations. The purpose of Xi's trip is to strengthen economic ties along the shared border, as well as Chinese investments in other parts of Myanmar under the Belt and Road Initiative (Bri) and infrastructure projects of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (Cmec) .
According to analysts and observers, the two governments will sign dozens of economic agreements, projects to improve roads, promote commercial relations and assist social and economic development. The interests of the Chinese president are concentrated on the implementation of projects such as the seaport of the Special Economic Zone of Kyaukphyu, in Rakhine (western Myanmar); the Economic Cooperation Zone, on the northern and northeastern border of Myanmar; and the New Yangon City project.
Beijing sees Myanmar as a crucial hub for the Chinese "two oceans" strategy - with reference to the Pacific and Indian oceans. It aims to redistribute the balance of power in the region in favor of the communist regime, expanding naval operations from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean, where Beijing is to conduct "offshore operations". But China's geopolitical, economic and strategic interests in Myanmar are currently the subject of much debate. Critics say that Myanmar is returning to China's orbit, or even struggling to maintain its neutrality and independence..."
Source/publisher:
"AsiaNews.it" (Italy)
Date of publication:
2020-01-17
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, “One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China
Language:
more
Topic:
bilateral relations, visit, bilateral, border security
Topic:
bilateral relations, visit, bilateral, border security
Description:
"China's president Xi Jingping will today kick off a two-day state visit to Myanmar which is likely to set the course of their future bilateral relations. While the visit is highly significant for Beijing, Myanmar is more hesitant, fearing it is becoming over-dependent on its northern neighbour, according to analysts and diplomats. But the visit certainly is a public endorsement of the special relationship that has formed between the two countries, and may herald a new era of strengthened relationship.
"[This visit] is extremely important, as it is likely to go a long way in defining the course of Myanmar-China bilateral relations into the future, especially under the watch of the NLD [National League for Democracy] administration led by Aung San Suu Kyi," according to Moe Thuzar -- a regional specialist and Myanmar programme coordinator at the Singapore-based think-tank, the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. Nevertheless it is much more than a symbolic occasion, according to most analysts, and a plethora of bilateral agreements on investment and trade are in the pipeline. These are the concrete dividends of such high-level visits -- often the result of months if not years of prior bilateral negotiations. "These deals, apart from the symbolic setting of signatures by the principal players, will also define Myanmar's geo-economic future," Ms Thuzar added..."
Source/publisher:
"Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-01-17
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, Burma's economic relations with China, “One Belt, One Road” initiative
Language:
more
Topic:
Myanmar - China, Aung San Suu Kyi, Bangladesh, Business & Economy
Sub-title:
China's President Xi Jinping is expected to tie up Belt and Road Initiative deals during his visit to Myanmar.
Topic:
Myanmar - China, Aung San Suu Kyi, Bangladesh, Business & Economy
Description:
"China's President Xi Jinping will visit Myanmar on Friday to ink massive infrastructure deals and extend influence in a neighbouring country whose ties with the West were frayed by accusations that it conducted genocidal policies against ethnic Muslim-majority Rohingya people.
This is Xi's first visit to the Southeast Asian country as the leader of China - and the first visit of any Chinese president in 19 years. Analysts say Xi will bid to revive stalled multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects central to his flagship Belt and Road Initiative, which is described as a "21st-century Silk Road". More:
Myanmar to release its Rohingya crackdown investigation results
ICJ to rule on emergency measures in Myanmar genocide case
World Bank gives China billions in loans despite US objections
Xi is scheduled to meet state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and army chief Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyitaw, in addition to meeting with the heads of minor political parties.
Historically, the two countries have had a sometimes fraught relationship, with many in Myanmar suspicious of the tremendous sway that China holds over its smaller neighbour..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-17
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Topic:
Myanmar - China, Asia Pacific, Xi Jinping, Aung San Suu Kyi
Sub-title:
Xi expected to sign $1.3bn deal to build a port in Rakhine State on his first visit to the country as president.
Topic:
Myanmar - China, Asia Pacific, Xi Jinping, Aung San Suu Kyi
Description:
"Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Myanmar on Friday on his first trip to the country since 2009 and is expected to step up investment in the Southeast Asian nation including in the conflict-racked state of Rakhine, a key link in China's Belt and Road initiative.
Myanmar's Deputy Minister of Commerce Aung Htoo told reporters before the visit that Xi would sign agreements related to the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone and $1.3bn port in Rakhine, where a brutal military crackdown in 2017 led hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee over the border to Bangladesh.
More:
Myanmar's women trafficked to China at risk of sexual violence
ICJ to rule on emergency measures in Myanmar genocide case
China invests billions in Myanmar
"Xi has visited almost all ASEAN countries since assuming power in 2013, but Myanmar had been left out until now," Yun Sun, director of the China programme at the Stimson Center, said in an email to Al Jazeera..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-17
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Chinese President Xi Jinping will begin a two-day trip to Southeast Asian nation on Friday with hopes high he can help finalise details of a US$1.3 billion deal to develop Kyaukpyu port... But China’s growing presence in Indian Ocean is fuelling concerns in New Delhi
Description:
"Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming trip to Myanmar is expected to help Beijing boost its presence in the Indian Ocean, especially if a deal can be finalised on the development of the China-funded Kyaukpyu port.
China’s ambassador to Myanmar, Chen Hai, said on Sunday that Xi was expected to oversee the signing of several deals during a two-day visit that starts on Friday, including possibly putting the final piece of the puzzle in the US$1.3 billion port deal, negotiations for which have been going on for several years.
Once completed, the facility on the Bay of Bengal will provide Beijing with a direct link to oil supplies from the Middle East, as Kyaukpyu is at one end of a massive oil and natural gas pipeline network that runs all the way to Kunming in southwest China’s Yunnan province. That direct link will provide an alternative route for China’s energy imports avoiding the Malacca Strait, which links the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea but has become a flashpoint for Sino-Indian maritime rivalry..."
Source/publisher:
"South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-01-15
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Topic:
CHINA, BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE, XI JINPING, MYANMAR, AUNG SAN SUU KYI
Sub-title:
Chinese leader to make historic Jan 17-18 visit in bid to advance contested Belt and Road Initiative
Topic:
CHINA, BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE, XI JINPING, MYANMAR, AUNG SAN SUU KYI
Description:
"When Xi Jinping travels to Myanmar on January 17, it will be the first visit by a sitting Chinese president since Jiang Zemin toured the country in December 2001.
Xi’s visit will show just how much times have changed between now and then. Jiang visited Myanmar when it was still ruled by a military junta and China was the then isolated nation’s closest ally.
Xi, on the other hand, will be meeting democratically elected leaders and China is no longer the country’s only important partner. Countries such as Japan and India are now vying for influence by offering various kinds of assistance — economic, political and in the case of India even military — to challenge China’s previously dominant role.
But in a curious twist of events, Myanmar’s still-powerful and autonomous military is the one wary of China and its intentions. The top brass see it as their duty to protect the country’s sovereignty, while nominal leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a politician who wants here government to be re-elected this year, has turned to Beijing for economic and other assistance after her previous allies and admirers in the West distanced themselves from her over the Rohingya refugee crisis..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-01-16
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, About Aung San Suu Kyi, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Xi’s first as president will aim to cement Beijing’s position as Myanmar’s largest investor and strategic partner
Description:
"China’s President Xi Jinping arrives in Myanmar this week to nail down multi-billion-dollar infrastructure deals in a country abandoned by many in the West appalled at the “genocide” of Rohingya Muslims on leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s watch.
Xi’s two-day visit, his first as president, will seek to cement Beijing’s position as Myanmar’s largest investor and strategic partner.
The much-trumpeted China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) aims to connect the Middle Kingdom to the Indian Ocean, a key route in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative that envisions Chinese infrastructure and influence spanning the globe. In addition to offering tens of billions of dollars in investment, China shields its neighbor at the United Nations, where pressure is mounting for accountability over the Rohingya crisis.
Yet the relationship between the countries is tangled.
Ethnic conflicts sizzling in border zones and the impact of dams, pipelines and transport links risk awakening hostility over Chinese intentions..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-01-16
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"China's President Xi Jinping arrives in Myanmar this week to nail down multi-billion-dollar infrastructure deals in a country abandoned by many in the West appalled at the "genocide" of Rohingya Muslims on leader Aung San Suu Kyi's watch.
Xi's two-day visit, his first as president, will seek to cement Beijing's position as Myanmar's largest investor and strategic partner.
The much-trumpeted China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) aims to connect the Middle Kingdom to the Indian Ocean, a key route in Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative that envisions Chinese infrastructure and influence spanning the globe.
In addition to offering tens of billions of dollars in investment, China shields its neighbour at the United Nations, where pressure is mounting for accountability over the Rohingya crisis.
Yet the relationship between the countries is tangled.
Ethnic conflicts sizzling in border zones and the impact of dams, pipelines and transport links risk awakening hostility over Chinese intentions..."
Source/publisher:
"Radio France Internationale (RFI)" ( Paris)
Date of publication:
2020-01-15
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
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Description:
"Myanmar is a fulcrum of the Belt and Road Initiative and an important corridor between China and Southeast and South Asia. As a traditional friendly neighbor, Myanmar has established a comprehensive strategic partnership with China. Apart from participating in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, Myanmar was among the first 21 countries to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Also, China is Myanmar's biggest source of foreign investment.
Since 2013, China and Myanmar together have made remarkable achievements in taking forward the Belt and Road Initiative.
First, the two countries have not only maintained frequent high-level mutual visits but also improved their cooperation mechanism, and thus strengthened mutual political trust. In April 2015, President Xi Jinping met with U Thein Sein, then president of Myanmar, on the sidelines of the Asian-African Summit that was held to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference in Indonesia. In October of the same year, Xi met with Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi on the sidelines of the 8th BRICS Summit in India. He also met with Suu Kyi three times at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing between May 2017 and April 2019..."
Source/publisher:
"China Daily" (Beijing)
Date of publication:
2020-01-14
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Other Special Economic Zones, China-Burma relations
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Description:
"In 1950, Myanmar established diplomatic ties with China. But the bilateral economic relations of the friendly neighbors date back to the pre-Christian era and have flourished recently.
As an old Chinese saying goes, "A good neighbor is better than a far-dwelling relative."
Booming bilateral trade
China is the largest trading partner as well as one of the most important sources of investment for Myanmar. Official data shows that as of July in 2019, China's cumulative investment in Myanmar accounted for over 25 percent of Myanmar's total foreign investment.
Centuries ago, there was a land route between China, Myanmar and India, the southwestern Silk Road. And for that long, China mainly exported silk, porcelain, tea and metals to Myanmar while importing shells as currency, spices, wood and jade from its neighbor..."
Source/publisher:
"China Global Television Network (CGTN)" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-01-14
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Border Trade with China, China-Burma relations
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Topic:
agreements, Belt and Road initiative, BRI, China, China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, CMEC, infrastructure projects, Investment, President Xi Jinping, visit
Topic:
agreements, Belt and Road initiative, BRI, China, China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, CMEC, infrastructure projects, Investment, President Xi Jinping, visit
Description:
"Chinese President Xi Jinping will land in Naypyitaw, the capital of Myanmar, on Friday looking to secure more agreements on key strategic projects under the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), a part of China’s ambitious infrastructure plan for the region.
Xi will be the first Chinese president to visit China’s southern neighbor in nearly two decades.
During his trip on Jan. 17-18, the two countries are expected to sign dozens of agreements, paving the way for the implementation of the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ), a key strategic component of the CMEC, and border economic cooperation zones, road upgrade projects, promotion of trade relations, and social and economic development assistance.
The 1,700-kilometer-long CMEC will start in Kunming, the capital of China’s Yunnan Province, go through Myanmar’s major economic cities—Mandalay in central Myanmar and the commercial capital of Yangon—and reach the coast at the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Rakhine State.
Here, The Irrawaddy looks at six projects slated for implementation this year and which require careful monitoring due to ethnic conflicts, local disagreements, and social and environmental impacts—including the controversial Myitsone Dam project, on which a final decision could be made during Xi’s trip..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-01-13
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Chinese investment, China-Burma-US relations
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