China-Burma relations

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Title: Coronavirus causes fall of Chinese tourists visiting Myanmar by 30%
Description: "Yangon Region government ethnic Karen Affairs Minister Naw Pan Thinzar Myo said that entry into Myanmar by Chinese tourists fell by about 30% after some of the Chinese flights were banned at Yangon International Airport after the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. She was speaking at a press conference on Friday held by the Yangon Region Legislative Assembly, Tourism Affairs Committee. Minister Naw Pan Thinzar Myo said, “Most of the Chinese tourists came to Myanmar in Yangon-Ngwesaung 3-night, 4-day tours. Each of them spent an average of 200,000 kyats. So we lost this income earning from them but this is the global crisis. If we let them enter our country to avoid income loss we will have the risk of being infected with this virus.” During the five days before the banning of Chinese airlines entering Myanmar, over 6,200 tourists visited Myanmar but this number fell to just over 3,900 during five days after the banning of these airlines, according to the Yangon Region Government. Before the outbreak of coronavirus in China, two Myanmar airlines and 14 Chinese airlines were regularly operating between the two countries. Currently only four airlines coming from four cities namely Kunming, Shanghai, Mansi and Guangzhou are permitted to continue their flight operations..."
Source/publisher: "Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-22
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Title: Myanmar’s India Balancing Act
Sub-title: Myanmar’s president will soon visit India, keeping Naypyidaw’s careful balance between India and China.
Description: "A month after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s official state visit to Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s president, U Win Myint, is scheduled for an official visit to India in the upcoming weeks. He is expected to travel to India a few days after U.S. President Trump’s official state visit to the same country on February 24. This second presidential visit to India within a year is part of Naypyidaw’s strategic ballet with New Delhi to maintain its strategic autonomy in the Indian Ocean power rivalry. While Beijing is speeding up the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) and upgrading the bilateral relationship as part of the “community of common destiny,” New Delhi has its own game beyond economic ties with Myanmar. Focusing on military cooperation and knowledge exchange, India has already won the heart of Myanmar military (Tatmadaw). Through close ties to the Myanmar Navy, New Delhi is keeping the Indian Ocean secure, which is the essence of the grand Indo-Pacific strategy to restrain Beijing’s expansion. Naypyidaw still does not have a clear policy to engage over this strategy, as the core concept of the “Indo-Pacific” is still loosely constructed and differently interpreted in the region. However, the strategic military-to-military partnership between New Delhi and the Tatmadaw creates space for Myanmar to adhere to a core principle, an independent and active foreign policy, by giving an alternative to China for Myanmar to engage with..."
Source/publisher: "The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-22
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Title: 50 Myanmar sailors arrested in China for working on ships carrying illegal goods
Description: "Up to 50 Myanmar sailors are being arrested or detained in China for working on ships carrying illegal goods, according to a statement released by the Myanmar embassy in Beijing. They are now at 16 detention centers and prison camps in China’s provinces and eight municipal cities. The arrestees are in good health and living there adapting themselves to the climate. In the cases in which Myanmar semen were arrested for various reasons in China, most are facing legal action for working on the vessels carrying illegal goods. “They were usually detained or arrested. Then they faced a lawsuit. When they were facing trial, they were not allowed to meet their family members. They could do so only after they got into prison. Embassy officials arranged the visits,” said a second secretary from the Myanmar embassy. The Myanmar embassy is coordinating with officials concerned to know whether the arrests of those sailors are justified and not to lose their deserving rights..."
Source/publisher: Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-21
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Title: Coronavirus slows China's Belt and Road push
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 entry/update: 2020-02-21
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Title: China keen to invest in Dawei SEZ
Sub-title: A state-owned Chinese firm has expressed interest to invest in the planned Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Tanintharyi Region, U Myint San, vice chair of Dawei SEZ Management Committee, told The Myanmar Times.
Description: "The Myanmar government has yet to respond to the Chinese, given that talks to develop the SEZ with Italian-Thai Development Company Ltd (ITD) as well as the Thai and Japanese governments are at advanced stages. However, analysts aren’t ruling out the possibility. “Dawei SEZ has taken a long time to take shape and isn’t going as planned. As we don’t have the funds to implement it, if the current investors cannot develop the project effectively, then Chinese companies are our only options,” said U Zaw Win Pe, a local analyst and former economic adviser to parliament. “We’ll complete negotiations with the ITD first. If we cannot agree to the terms of the project, we can cancel the contract when it expires. I think the Chinese have the capacity to develop this project, but we’ll have to wait and see if ITD would be able to do it within the specified period,” U Zaw Win Pe added. The Chinese are expected to reap strategic benefits if they win Dawei SEZ. “China is already developing the Kyauk Phyu SEZ in Rakhine State. China is building a bullet train route from Kunming, China to Bangkok in Thailand. If they can connect that route to Dawei SEZ, it will be a great achievement for China. If China wins [Dawei SEZ], they will connect this route,” U Myint San said..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-20
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Title: Coronavirus Is Devastating Chinese Tourism
Sub-title: Countries have closed off their borders with China, airlines have slashed flights, and hotels have seen a big drop-off in bookings.
Description: "Last month, on January 19, Myanmar’s state-run newspaper left no question as to what was the biggest story of the day. The paper carried page after page of dry reports documenting the movements and meetings of visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping. Inside were photos of Xi and Myanmar’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, sitting in gilded chairs behind a table draped in red, yellow, and green fabric, the colors of Myanmar’s flag. A parade of officials had taken turns posing in front of them, clutching red folios that each contained one of the dozens of freshly signed agreements between the two countries. The visit marked the start of the “Myanmar-China Bilateral Cultural and Tourism Year.” Buried inside the same edition of the paper was a single article, plucked from the AFP newswire, detailing alarm by medical experts in London over the spread of a “mysterious SARS-like virus in China” and warning that the scale of the outbreak was “likely far bigger than officially reported.” Of the two stories, this is the one proving to be more important to Myanmar, Southeast Asia, and the world. The illness, now officially labeled COVID-19, has raced across the globe, infecting tens of thousands of people and killing more than 2,000, predominantly in China. Countries have closed their borders to Chinese travelers; airlines have slashed flights and limited routes. Points of transit across Asia—train stations, bus depots, airports—have seen traffic plummet, and some are nearly deserted. Leaders in Beijing are undertaking a sprawling lockdown and quarantine on a scale that is difficult to comprehend. The impact on the global economy is still yet to be fully understood..."
Source/publisher: "The Atlantic" (Boston)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-20
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Title: The cost of the coronavirus to Myanmar’s economy
Sub-title: Farm labourers and crab catchers are among the thousands of Myanmar facing hard times because of the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Description: "THE IMPACT on Myanmar of the coronavirus outbreak that began in neighbouring China late last year has hit border trade and tourism hard, and there were reports last week that the garment sector was also being affected by supply-chain disruptions. As of February 17, Myanmar was monitoring eight people for symptoms of the Coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, the Ministry of Health and Sport said. Earlier suspected cases of this novel type of coronavirus, including some in which patients were held in quarantine, have been confirmed as negative. COVID-19, which is a relative of the SARS and MERS coronaviruses, currently lacks a specific medical treatment and a vaccine is still being developed. China’s decision to close four border crossings at the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year to help contain the spread of the disease has sparked a sharp downturn in trade, with the agriculture, aquaculture and seafood sectors the worst affected. The number of Chinese tourists has also slumped, partly because visa rules have been tightened while the outbreak remains uncontrolled and also because of airlines cancelling services..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-20
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Title: China not protecting Myanmar, says envoy
Description: "Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming yesterday said his country is not trying to protect Myanmar over the Rohingya issues as his country has friendly relations with both Bangladesh and Myanmar. Responding to a question at the DCAB Talk, organised by Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at the National Press Club in the capital, Li Jiming said China wants an end to the crisis through dialogue with the intervention of China and international bodies. The ambassador said “It is often said that China is protecting Myanmar on the Rohingya issue. We have friendly relations with Bangladesh and Myanmar. We are not trying to protect Myanmar. We are trying to persuade all to settle the issue through dialogue, especially bilateral dialogue,” he said. “Rohingya crisis is a bilateral issue of Bangladesh and Myanmar. But in solving the crisis, they need helping hands, including China,” he added. Li Jiming We hope we can see a very concrete and sustainable result in the near future,” he added. “China made a lot of efforts as the mediator between Myanmar and Bangladesh to resolve the Rohingya crisis. China is not the main player. Bangladesh and Myanmar are the main players. China is only helping to find a solution of the crisis. We hope we can see a very concrete and sustainable result in the near future,” he added..."
Source/publisher: "The Independent" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-18
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Title: Myanmar sailors face arrest in China for working on ships carrying illegal goods
Description: "There have been cases in which Myanmar sailors were arrested in China as they worked on ships carrying illegal goods, according to a statement released by the Myanmar embassy in Beijing. Most of the Myanmar seamen were arrested for various reasons in China because they worked on the vessels carrying illegal goods. “They were usually detained or arrested. Then they faced a lawsuit. When they were facing trial, they were not allowed to meet their family members. They could do so only after they got into prison. Embassy officials arranged the visits,” said a second secretary from the Myanmar embassy. Those Myanmar sailors came to know that they were working on ships carrying illegal goods only after they were arrested. It is also reported that when such cases came, one or some of the senior officials from the ship would be arrested..."
Source/publisher: Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-18
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Title: China's CITIC to build Myanmar's huge Kyaukphyu Deep Seaport, first phase to cost US$1.3 bln
Description: "The planned multi-billion dollar Kyaukphyu Deep Seaport project will be developed with the contribution of 70 per cent by the China International Trust and Investment Corporation Consortium (CITIC) and 30 per cent by Myanmar, said Deputy Commerce Minister U Aung Htoo on Feb 16. According to the notification issued by Myanmar Economic Zones Central Committee dated 29 February, 2015, the project has a total area of 4289.32 acres—607.88 acres for the deep seaport project, 2446.07 acres for the industrial zone project and 1235.37 acres for the advanced housing project. A framework agreement was signed by Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone Management Committee and the CITIC Consortium from China in Nay Pyi Taw on 8 November, 2018. The agreements pertaining to Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone Project and Deep Sea Port Project were signed. On 18 January, 2020, both sides exchanged the MoUs. Both projects will be developed by the CITIC Consortium and Myanmar-Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone Holdings Groups of Company composed of 42 local private companies from Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: "The Star Online" (Selangor)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-17
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Title: Myanmar: Back On Track With BRI? – OpEd
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 entry/update: 2020-02-17
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Title: Myanmar’s support amid epidemic solidifies its deep China ties
Description: "As China goes all out to contain the novel coronavirus epidemic and some countries had evacuated their citizens, suspended flights and exaggerated the crisis, a launch ceremony for the China-Myanmar 2020 joint scientific survey of Myanmar's waters was held on Thursday, at Myanmar's Thilawa port in Yangon. This is the first major bilateral cooperation project launched by the two sides since President Xi Jinping's successful visit to Myanmar in January. It is a true reflection of the solid progress of the China-Myanmar community with a shared future. During Xi's visit to Myanmar, the two countries agreed to jointly build a China-Myanmar community with a shared future, which received a positive response from all walks of life in Myanmar. Today, the epidemic fight has solidified the friendship between China and Myanmar. After the novel coronavirus epidemic broke out in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, YTV, one of the television channels in Myanmar, produced a seven-minute video to cheer for and support Wuhan and China, which touched the hearts of millions of the Chinese people. During China's fight against the epidemic, the world has seen this scenario: Chinese builders worked day and night at "Chinese speed" to set up, in just over 10 days, two large-scale high-level specialist hospitals which were designated to treating novel coronavirus patients in critical conditions. The world knows it was a feat only China could accomplish. The Chinese government has mobilized tens of thousands of medical workers to respond to the emergency. They headed into the eye of the storm without regard for their personal safety, validating the spirit of unity and mutual assistance of the Chinese nation during times of crisis. The quarantine of Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic which has a population of more than 10 million, has been accomplished with the understanding cooperation of the city's people. While the city has been locked down, its order has been maintained and basic supplies largely ensured..."
Source/publisher: "Global Times" (China)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-17
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Title: Virus outbreak causes layoffs at Chinese-owned factory in Yangon
Sub-title: A Chinese-owned garment factory in Hlaing Tharyar township in Yangon Region has temporarily shut down and laid off hundreds of workers due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Description: "The Hunter Myanmar Garment Factory shut down on Saturday, allegedly due to financial difficulties caused by cancelled orders and lack of raw materials. Ma Thandar Win, leader of the labour union at the plant, said the Chinese owner told Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein she could not access money because the banks are closed due to the virus outbreak. “U Phyo Min Thein said he did not know when the epidemic will end and the banks will reopen,” she said. “It is cold there and is the flu season. When spring comes in April, the problems might end, but there is no guarantee.” Ma Thandar Win said the union and management will meet on Monday at the Labour Department office in Hlaing Tharyar to discuss compensation for the nearly 1000 workers. The workers want a guarantee that they will be reinstated when the factory reopens. “The factory is just 13 months old and has had problems,” she said. Under the law, workers must be employed for at least six months before they are entitled to 15 days’ compensation. Many workers are not eligible yet.” She said some workers only need a few days before they reach one year of employment, which would qualify them for one-month’s compensation. “They could lose around K130,000,” she added..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-17
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Title: Myanmar to donate 200 tons of rice to coronavirus-hit China
Description: "Union Minister for International Cooperation Kyaw Htin met Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai on February 14 in Nay Pyi Taw and discussed Myanmar’s donation of 200 tons of rice to coronavirus-hit China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported. “We don’t know about exact date of the donation. We are still coordinating as to whether the rice will be transported by ship or through border. But we will try to send it as quickly as possible,” said Aung Ko, director general of the Political Department. The minister praised the Chinese people for their united efforts to fight and control 2019 novel coronavirus under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, and expressed his belief that the problem could be overcome. The minister also expressed thanks to the Chinese government for its assistance and cooperation in evacuating Myanmar students from the city of Wuhan, said the press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs..."
Source/publisher: Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-16
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Title: China’s coronavirus hits Myanmar economy
Sub-title: China’s coronavirus epidemic is hitting Myanmar’s important manufacturing and tourism industries as well as disrupting border trade, but in the longer term the crisis could encourage more supply chain factories to relocate from its giant neighbour.
Description: "The outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the central Chinese city of Wuhan came at the worst possible time for Myanmar’s tourism industry, with the peak season lasting from October to March. The epidemic has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization and is having an economic impact well beyond China where economic growth is forecast by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to fall to 5.4 percent from 5.9pc in 2020. Fitch Solutions Macro Research this month lowered its forecast for Myanmar’s real GDP growth for the financial year 2019-20 to 6.3pc from 6.5pc, down from an actual 6.8pc in 2018-19. It expects the slowdown in tourism activity to account for most of the impact as Chinese nationals accounted for nearly a third of over two million foreign tourists last year. But the impact of the virus outbreak goes beyond a drop in Chinese travellers. Crude oil prices have lost around US$10 per barrel since mid-January on coronavirus-related fears. China is the biggest oil importer and if economic activity slows further then analysts say benchmark oil prices could dip by another US$3-5 per barrel. Oil and gas exports account for roughly half of Myanmar’s total export revenues and a drop in price will affect the government’s efforts to attract foreign investment in the upcoming bidding round. The energy ministry is expected to release 15 offshore and 18 onshore blocks to international bidders later this year. The EIU’s global trade lead Nick Marro expects much of the economic shock to hit China in the first quarter, which he says will have consequences for ASEAN over that same period..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-15
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Title: Myanmar Plans Emergency Coronavirus Funding, Lab Tests
Description: "Myanmar’s minister of health and sports said on Tuesday that the government plans to set up an emergency fund of 300 million kyats (US$206,000) to use in tackling the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. Health and Sports Minister Dr. Myint Htwe told the Lower House on Tuesday that the fund will support the ministry’s arrangements to prevent, protect against and treat the coronavirus. The minister said the fund will be used for equipment, medicines, laboratories and protective gear in intensive care units that treat infected patients. The minister also said that Myanmar will soon be able to do the lab tests to detect the coronavirus, as the ministry’s National Health Laboratory will soon receive reagents needed to conduct the tests. Thailand, Japan and the US have donated the reagents needed for about 350 tests. Currently, Myanmar has to send nasal swabs from tests to the World Health Organization (WHO) reference lab in Thailand. “The regents will arrive tomorrow and our lab will be trained so that hopefully, our lab will be ready by Feb. 20,” said the minister at the Parliament session in Naypyitaw on Tuesday. The minister also said that the results from the National Health Laboratory will still be double-checked with the WHO reference lab to ensure accurate results..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-15
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Title: Chinese research vessel arrives at Myanmar's Thilawa port to conduct joint research
Description: "Crew members work on the Chinese research vessel Xiangyanghong 06 at Thilawa port in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 13, 2019. Chinese research vessel Xiangyanghong 06 arrived at Myanmar's Thilawa port in Yangon on Thursday to conduct a joint research in Myanmar's waters..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-14
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Title: Myanmar companies donate disposable masks to China
Description: "Two companies from Myanmar donated a batch of disposable masks to China to bolster its efforts to combat the novel coronavirus. A total of 36,000 disposable masks were handed over by Young Insurance and Htoo Thit to the Chinese embassy in Myanmar. "The Chinese government has done a very good job fighting the outbreak. I wish the medical staff working the front line are healthy and hope they can overcome the virus as soon as possible," said Thiha Aung, chairman of Young Insurance. Zaw Lin, director of Htoo Thit, said, "Our aim is to help as much as we can to encourage our neighbor." "Our embassy plans to send these donations to the areas which are in need without delay," Li Xiaoyan, charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Myanmar, told Xinhua, adding that these donations showed the deep "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship between the two peoples..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-13
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Title: Myanmar’s Top Private-Sector Airline Sees Virus Impact to April
Description: "Myanmar’s largest private-sector airline said the novel coronavirus outbreak is likely to have an impact on its operations until April. The airline, Myanmar Airways International-Air KBZ Group, has temporarily suspended all routes to mainland China as well as Taiwan, Commercial Director Tanes Kumar said in an interview. “We had to shift some priorities within our strategy due to the virus outbreak,” he said, adding that once China flights resume the carrier should be able to make up the losses expected in the first four months of the year. Read More: Myanmar Expects 5 Million Tourists in 2020 Despite Virus Fears Kumar said the airline will continue to invest in fleet expansion and that its goal is to become a “local champion” like VietJet in Vietnam or Lion Air in Indonesia..."
Source/publisher: "Bloomberg News" (New York)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-11
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Title: China’s ‘Belt and Road’ Strategy in Eurasia and Euro-Atlanticism
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 entry/update: 2020-02-10
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Title: Myanmar’s Role in China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative
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 entry/update: 2020-02-10
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Title: OBOR China’s Grand Strategy for the 21st century
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 entry/update: 2020-02-10
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Title: Transitional Relation of China and Myanmar: A New Economic Geography Approach to Mandalay-Ruili Road Connection
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 entry/update: 2020-02-10
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Title: Myanmar Returns to China a Wuhan Woman Who Crossed Border
Sub-title: As Death Toll From Virus Grows, More Chinese Voice Anger, Coronavirus Death Toll Surpasses That of SARS Epidemic, Q&A: How the Coronavirus Differs From the Flu and SARS
Description: "Myanmar police have apprehended and returned to Chinese authorities one of five people from the city of Wuhan, center of the deadly, fast-spreading coronavirus, who slipped across the porous border between the two nations earlier this week. The only woman in the group tested negative for the virus and was repatriated on Thursday. No information is available regarding what happened to her upon arriving in China. Her compatriots remain at large, according to police in Myanmar. Her return came a day after police in the border town of Ruili in Yunnan Province notified the chief of police in Myanmar’s Muse District to be on the lookout for four men and a woman “more than likely [carrying] the new coronavirus pneumonia,” according to a letter dated February 5, and obtained by VOA Burmese. On Friday, a Muse police officer, who did not want to be named, told VOA, “We are still in pursuit of four missing Chinese. … Yesterday, we looked for those five missing Chinese soon after we received notification and found one woman in Muse. After health workers from both our side and Chinese side checked, she was found to be in good health..."
Source/publisher: "VOA" (Washington, D.C)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-09
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Title: Chinese companies hope to cash in on cannabis
Sub-title: Investors from China are keen to grow non-intoxicating strains of cannabis in Myanmar for medicinal or industrial use, but that won’t happen without change to the anti-narcotics law.
Description: "COMPANIES IN China have expressed strong interest in growing cannabis for medicinal and industrial purposes in Myanmar, although legal cultivation of even non-intoxicating strains of the plant, known as hemp, would require changes to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law. The moves come as demand soars in many countries for products made from cannabis to treat a range of ailments, including chronic pain, and for making paper, textiles, construction materials and health food. More than 30 nations have legalised the medical use of marijuana – the name used for intoxicating strains of cannabis – including neighbouring Thailand last year, the first country in Southeast Asia to do so. Meanwhile, demand in the United States has soared in recent years for cannabidiol, or CBD, a compound extracted from hemp that is used in health and beauty oils, sprays and balms. This lucrative market is largely supplied by sprawling plantations in faraway China, where domestic CBD sales are banned. The legal use of cannabis generates billions of dollars and it’s a market with huge potential in Myanmar, which has ample land and the right climate for the crop, and thousands of farmers eager to cash in on cultivating cannabis..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-08
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Title: Hydropower and the worsening water crisis for Myanmar and Asia
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 entry/update: 2020-02-08
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Title: Myanmar losing $16m a day in China trade due to coronavirus - commerce ministry
Sub-title: Government looking to drum up trade with Singapore and Laos as exports to China dry up
Description: "Myanmar is losing the equivalent of $16 million a day in border trade with China because of the coronavirus outbreak, a senior official from the commerce ministry has said. Exports to China dropped by $160m between January 27 and February 5 at border trade areas in Shan and Kachin states, commerce secretary Khin Maung Lwin told Myanmar Now. Trade has dried up because buyers inside China are unable to reach the border due to travel restrictions aimed at curbing the virus, said Dr Thet Lwin Oo, Director of the Myanmar International Trade Center. Meanwhile Myanmar traders are having their Chinese visas denied, said Sein Win Hlaing, chairman of the Myanmar Rice Producers Association. Trade at the border is worth over $500 million a month, government figures show. Between October and January, China imported $1.4 billion worth of goods from Myanmar and exported $680 million worth. Khin Maung Lwin said that as there were now no buyers on the Chinese side, the ministry is looking for new export markets..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-08
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Title: Some airlines fly between China, Myanmar
Description: "Some airlines continue to fly between Myanmar and Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Kunming of China though most of airlines have temporarily suspended their flight operations in a bid to contain the coronavirus in China, according to the statement by the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar on 6 February. There are 12 airlines flying between Yangon and China. Eight out of 12 airlines have suspended their flight operations between Myanmar and China. The remaining four airlines continue their flight operations. Air China operates Yangon-Beijing schedule every Friday, China Eastern, Yangon-Shanghai, Yangon-Kunming and Mandalay-Kunming schedules, China Southern Airlines, Yangon- Guangzhou and Sichuan Airlines, Mandalay-Kunming schedule. The State-owned Myanmar National Airlines (MNA) and the private-owned Myanmar Airways International (MAI) also suspended their flight operations between Yangon and China. Most airlines have halted their flight operations till the end of February. Airport Health Quarantine Team is monitoring passengers using WHO-recognized Infrared Thermal scanners..."
Source/publisher: Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-08
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Title: Thousands of Myanmar workers left jobless after suspension of crab exports to China
Summary: "Thousands of workers from crab wholesale centres from the Labutta township are now out of their jobs after China suspended its crab imports from Myanmar due to the spread of novel coronavirus in...
Description: "Thousands of workers from crab wholesale centres from the Labutta township are now out of their jobs after China suspended its crab imports from Myanmar due to the spread of novel coronavirus in China. The suspension of crab exports to China has huge impacts on workers and the crab industry in the township. Crab is one of the major exports of Labutta Township, and it may have an impact on those involved in the whole industry. The price of crab declined to around Ks5,000 (RM14) per kilo from around Ks15,000 (RM43)per kilo after China stopped importing crabs from Myanmar. U Win Naing, Chair of the Labutta Crab Entrepreneurs Association said: “Due to the closure of border gates, we cannot ship crabs to China. We mainly export crabs to China. There are 130 crab wholesale centres in Labutta.” Labutta township exports more than ten tonnes of crabs to China every day. Most people in the rural areas rely only on crab fishing. - Eleven Media Group/Asia News Network..."
Source/publisher: "The Star Online" (Selangor)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-08
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Title: China virus infects Myanmar Belt and Road plans
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 entry/update: 2020-02-07
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Title: China-Myanmar trade slows to a trickle
Sub-title: The coronavirus outbreak in China has caused trade between Myanmar and its neighbor to slow to a trickle, trade officials say.
Description: "The clearest example of this is the plunge in the volume of watermelons from Myanmar that are crossing the border to the east. “About 600 truckloads of Myanmar’s watermelons used to cross the border a day in the Muse border trade area in Shan State. Since the outbreak earlier this year, the number of loads has plunged to about 30, a reduction of 95 percent,” said U Naing Win, chair of the Myanmar Melon Producers and Exporters Association. China is one of Myanmar’s largest trade partners, with goods flowing between both countries across land routes and by sea. The Chinese government’s restrictions on travel between provinces in the country that are part of efforts to curb the spread of the virus is causing severe problems at border trade areas, U Naing Win added. “As long as this health emergency continues, losses will continue. It is important to combat this disease so markets can return to normal as soon as possible. If not, the damage will be huge. A continued reduction in business volume of 95pc is just unsustainable,” he said. “The slowing of watermelon sales, one of main export commodities in the Muse area, started on January 13. In the past, there was more demand during Chinese New Year period and a truckload of watermelons was worth from K8 million to K13 million, but prices have now dropped by between 50pc to 70pc ” said U Sai Khin Maung, vice chair of the Muse Fruit Commodity Brokers House. Traders in Muse say that the Chinese government’s travel restrictions are impeding the flow of goods. This is being compounded by new restrictions on oversea trade routes as well, said Ministry of Commerce Assistant Secretary U Khin Maung Lwin. “Import and export licence applications for oversea trade with China were stopped this week, so trade seems to be slowing to a crawl,” U Khin Maung Lwin said..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-07
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Title: Four more suspected coronavirus victims in Myanmar test negative
Sub-title: Three Chinese nationals and one Myanmar citizen suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus tested negative for the deadly disease that has already killed 566 people in the month since it began in neighbouring China.
Description: "The Ministry of Health and Sports said Thailand’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) found no sign of the flu-like virus in nasopharyngeal swabs taken from the four patients. "We are still monitoring them,” said Dr Khin Khin Gyi, deputy director of Contagious Disease Prevention and Eradication for the Department of Public Health. “We are giving them proper treatment and they are attended by well-trained medical staff. They are all in good health.” The four patients include a one-year-old girl from Sichuan province being treated at Kyaingtong Hospital in Shan State, a 15-year-old Taiwanese boy being treated at Waibargi Hospital in Yangon, a two-year-old Myanmar girl being treated at Loikaw Hospital in Kayah State, and a 29-year-old Chinese man from Guangzhou being treated at Nay Pyi Taw Hospital.Earlier on Monday, a Chinese man suspected of suffering from new coronavirus was discharged from a Yangon hospital after tests showed he did not have the disease. The man was taken to Waibargi Hospital with a fever on Friday after arriving at Yangon International Airport on a China Southern Airlines flight from Guangzhou. The ministry said it is monitoring six people across the country who have exhibited signs of coronavirus, including a 38-year-old man in Minbya township in Rakhine State, and a 45-year-old man in Namtu township in Shan. The ministry has sent nasopharyngeal swabs of the six to the NIH for diagnosis, and vowed to provide daily updates on the disease, which has afflicted nearly 30,000 people in China and elsewhere..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-07
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Title: Myanmar Workers Leave China Without Pay, Fearing Virus
Description: "Migrant workers returning to Myanmar from China’s Yunnan province because of coronavirus fears are walking away from their jobs without receiving the pay owed to them, as their Chinese employers try to discourage them from leaving, sources say. Nearly 1,000 have crossed the border at Myanmar’s Chinshwehaw town since Jan. 28, with around 350 crossing each day at Laukkaing, both in Myanmar’s Kokang Self-Administered Zone, sources say, adding that most had been employed in chili and eggplant plantations in remote areas of Yunnan. Some are leaving without receiving their salary or money they have saved, because their bosses do not want them to leave, a resident of Yesagyo, a town in Myanmar’s Magway Division near the border, told RFA’s Myanmar Service in an interview. Others are meanwhile unable to leave, Ma San New Htay said. “The bosses do not give them their full wages, or control their passports, IDs, or other documents. That’s why some workers cannot return home, even though they want to leave,” she said. Also speaking to RFA, one returned worker said that many are now leaving China despite employers’ attempts to hold them back..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-07
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Title: 59 Myanmar students returned from Wuhan are in good health: Mdy mayor
Description: " All 59 Myanmar students from Wuhan quarantined in Kantawnadi Hospital in Mandalay are still in good health, said Dr Ye Lwin, Mayor of Mandalay. “They are in good health and we are still monitoring their situation till 14 days,” said Dr Ye Lwin, who is also a chairman of the Surveillance and Response Team (SRT). A total of 59 out of 63 Myanmar students from Wuhan arrived back in Mandalay on February 2 and four remained in Wuhan as their body temperatures are high. “All students are not infected and they stayed in hostels of universities in Wuhan. They have not been ill since 14 days ago. If one of them got ill, we will move him or her to the isolation ward in Mandalay general hospital. We are following the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Mandalay residents need not to be worried too much,” wrote Dr Ye Lwin in his Facebook page..."
Source/publisher: Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-05
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Title: Is China getting real with its grandiose visions for the belt and road?
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 entry/update: 2020-02-05
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Title: Farmers benefit from China-Myanmar agriculture cooperation
Summary: "As the time for growing rice in Myanmar approaches, Kyaw Thet Naing, a farmer who lives on the outskirts of the nation's capital Nay Pyi Taw, already has high hope for his harvest. His confidence...
Description: "As the time for growing rice in Myanmar approaches, Kyaw Thet Naing, a farmer who lives on the outskirts of the nation's capital Nay Pyi Taw, already has high hope for his harvest. His confidence has grown from experiencing years of rich and quality yields on his five acres of rice, where he has kept planting paddy seed varieties from China and practiced related farming techniques since 2017. "With our traditional ways of cultivation, we would normally produce about 60 baskets (1,260 kg) per acre. With China's assistance, we have added nearly 50 baskets per acre," he said. In the past year, rice seeds and related techniques from China have become widely accepted among nearby farmers, he added. In 2017, the Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GAAS) in Nanning, capital of southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, worked with agricultural authorities in Myanmar as well as companies from both sides to build several research platforms in Nay Pyi Taw. The platforms, which aim to introduce, select, demonstrate and publicize high-quality crop varieties from both countries, launched research projects targeting new ways to plant and grow crops more efficiently and with greener methods in pest and disease prevention and control. Yang Mingtong, chairman of the Guangxi Haokay Biotechnology Co. Ltd., one of the contributors to the platform, said that the company has been conducting tests and plant trials for about 102 Chinese crop varieties, including rice, corn, cucurbit and vegetables, in Myanmar to see if they are suited to the local climate and soil conditions..."
Source/publisher: "The Star Online" (Selangor)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-04
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Title: Myanmar’s growing dependence on China
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 entry/update: 2020-02-04
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Title: Chinese Visitor to Myanmar Tests Negative for Coronavirus, Released After Four Days of Quarantine

Summary: "A 56-year-old Chinese man who quarantined in Yangon on Friday on suspicion of carrying the coronavirus after arriving on a flight from Guangzhou has been released from the hospital after his...
Description: "A 56-year-old Chinese man who quarantined in Yangon on Friday on suspicion of carrying the coronavirus after arriving on a flight from Guangzhou has been released from the hospital after his symptoms cleared up and test results showed him to be virus-free, according to Myanmar’s Health Ministry. The man had been under observation in an isolation ward at a communicable disease hospital in northern Yangon since Friday. The Ministry of Health and Sports announced in a statement on Monday that lab tests conducted in Thailand on samples taken from the man’s nose and throat showed he was negative for the new coronavirus. “His health condition is improving. So, he was discharged from the hospital,” the hospital said. The statement added that two Myanmar nationals on the same flight as the Chinese man who had also been quarantined were also released, as they were in good health. So far, the virus has killed 361 people in China. The number of infections has increased to 2,829 while the number of suspected cases has topped 20,000, China’s National Health Commission said..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-03
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Title: Myanmar migrant workers pour in due to virus fears
Description: "A total of 153 Myanmar migrant workers arrived back in Muse on the evening of 1 February due to the mounting fears of Wuhan coronavirus in China. The returnees went home asking for the help from Myanmar Counsel Office in China. A worker said: “Normally, the trip to Ruli-Kyalkhaung takes about one hour. Chinese authorities have restricted travels from region to region. We arrived at Myanmar border gate at 10 pm.” Normally, Nandaw China-Myanmar border checkpoint is closed at 8.30 pm. U Thaung Tun from Muse Philanthropic Organization said: “They returned to Myanmar due to the virus fears. Chinese employers are unable to return to their factories and plantations as they go home during the Chinese New Year. That’s why, workers face a shortage of food. Some workers got salaries while other did not get their salaries. Employers deduct an advance payment of 1,000 Chinese Yuan as the workers go home before the completion of work.” Myanmar migrants are from Lashio, Taunggyi, Kantbalu, Monywa and Butalin Townships. More workers are planning to go home.
Source/publisher: "Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-03
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Title: Myanmar to hedge against slower China trade due to coronavirus
Sub-title: Myanmar wants to expand its exports to other markets to hedge against a potential dip in demand from China, where a new respiratory virus has infected more than 14,000 people and killed more than 300, mostly from Hubei province, where illnesses from the new type of coronavirus were first detected in the city of Wuhan in December.
Description: "China is now Myanmar’s largest export market. Already, trading of melons has come to a standstill and prices have halved, said U Naing Win, chair of the Myanmar Watermelon and Muskmelon Producers and Exporters Association. As such, preparations are being made for Myanmar to send more goods to other markets to avoid any volatility in demand from China. “As the market has just reopened after the Chinese New Year break, we can’t tell the exact extent of the impact the Wuhan virus has on the export market yet. But we are working on seeking new border markets to export our goods in the event that the spread of the virus continues,” U Aung Htoo, Deputy Minister for Commerce, said in a press briefing on the drafting of the National Export Strategy 2020-2025 on January 31. Plans have also been made to export more goods via air and maritime routes to offset slower trade at the border. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, China has stopped importing melons from Myanmar and stockpiles of fruit are being held in Yunnan province. Around 80 percent of total border trade takes place at the Muse trade gate on the Myanmar-China border..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-03
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Title: 59 out of 63 Myanmar students stranded in Wuhan arrive back
Description: "News Update: 59 out of 63 Myanmar students stranded in the novel coronavirus-stricken Chinese city of Wuhan arrived back at Mandalay International Airport this morning. They were transported to Kandawnadi hospital in Mandalay for medical screening. They are being quarantined at the hospital. Four students remain there as one is not in conformity with the immigration rules, one is present outside the province and two others have high body temperatures, according to the statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs..."
Source/publisher: "Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-02
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Title: China Southern A319 Landing In Myanmar Makes Uturn Back To China
Description: "Yet another flight has been turned back to China due to suspicions that a passenger had contracted coronavirus. Today, Myanmar turned a China Southern flight back to China after a passenger was found to have flu-like symptoms. As the virus spreads, so do the stories of flight disruptions and delays. The latest update shows that a flight from Guangzhou in China was returned to its origin with almost all passengers still on board. A Chinese national disembarked in Yangon, Myanmar, and was immediately sent to a hospital. It has been reported that two Myanmar citizens also disembarked and will be isolated at home for two weeks. Although no official cases of coronavirus have been reported in Myanmar, or on the flight, all of the other passengers were forced to remain on the plane and were flown back to China. According to airport officials, there were a total of 79 people on board including the two Myanmar citizens who were allowed to disembark, two American, two French, a Colombian and 72 Chinese nationals, all but one of whom were forced to return to China. The flight left China on Friday Morning, arriving in Myanmar at 10.40 local time. The plane was then returned to China landing at 19.34 local time, almost three hours late. The Airbus A319 twin-jet aircraft was being operated by China Southern Airlines..."
Source/publisher: Simple Flying
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-02
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Title: Myanmar-China trade volume reaches to US$1.337 B within two months
Description: "Trade volume between Myanmar and China is reached to US$1.337 billion within two months of this fiscal year and Myanmar had a trade surplus as it imported US$551 million worth of products from China, according to Ministry of Commerce. Myanmar exported over US$785 million worth of products to China in that period. Both countries are opened business centers and implemented to boost border trade and investments, according to the ministry. The ministry will sign MoUs with the China to establish border economic cooperation zones and will invite tender for Expression of Interest (EOI) for local businessmen to participate to work in the zones, said Dr Than Myint, Union Minister for Commerce. “We will call for EOI to develop border economic cooperation zones in Muse, Nantkhan, Kanpiketie, Laukkai and Chinshwehaw,” said the minister..."
Source/publisher: "Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-02
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Title: Shan fruit sellers struggle following China virus travel ban
Description: "Shan fruit wholesalers in Muse on the Shan State-China border have been asked to temporarily stop exports to Myanmar’s northern neighbour as the coronavirus spreads, according to Shan News. Sai Khin Maung, chairperson of the local Wholesalers’ Association, said that it is difficult to send vehicles across the border with goods to sell, the news agency said. “Chinese officials have strictly tightened security at the border entrance gates. Transportation is really difficult at this moment,” he told Shan News. China closed hotels and casinos in Ruili town, which is opposite Muse in Yunnan Province, on January 26 with the aim of containing the coronavirus..."
Source/publisher: "Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-02
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Title: Behind Myanmar -China pauk phaw relations
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 entry/update: 2020-02-01
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Title: Myanmar turns back Guangzhou flight
Sub-title: Passenger with symptoms quarantined in Yangon but full China Southern jet sent home
Description: " Authorities in Myanmar turned back a China Southern flight from Guangzhou with almost everyone on board on Friday after one of the passengers was found with flu symptoms similar to the fast-spreading coronavirus, a government spokesman said. The plane arrived in the commercial capital Yangon and the passenger, a Chinese national, was sent to a hospital in the city where he will be quarantined, said government spokesman Zaw Htay. Two Myanmar nationals who also disembarked have agreed to isolate themselves in their homes for 14 days, he told reporters at a press conference. The plane returned to Gaungzhou with everyone else on board. Myanmar has no confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which first emerged in China’s central province of Hubei and has infected almost 10,000 people since, mostly in and around Hubei..."
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-01
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Title: What does Xi’s Myanmar visit mean for India’s China anxieties?
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 entry/update: 2020-02-01
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Title: Banks need to take Belt and Road environmental risks seriously
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 entry/update: 2020-01-31
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Title: The changing face of Myanmar’s raging Rakhine war
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 entry/update: 2020-01-30
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Title: Myanmar’s peace god
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. Support more independent journalism like this. Sign up to be a Frontier member. 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 entry/update: 2020-01-30
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Title: China’s loose arms still fuel Myanmar’s civil wars
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 entry/update: 2020-01-29
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Title: Chinese companies investing in Myanmar have ‘a lot of work to do’ to convince public
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 entry/update: 2020-01-29
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Title: Myanmar a perfect fit on China’s Belt and Road
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 entry/update: 2020-01-29
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Title: Myanmar warns sanctions over Rohingya genocide will push it closer to China and dismisses ‘debt trap’ concerns
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 entry/update: 2020-01-29
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Title: Over 700,000 Chinese tourists entered Myanmar on zero budget tour last year
Description: "More than 700,000 Chinese entered Myanmar on a zero budget tour in 2019 with over 300,000 of them through Yangon, said Minister for Kayin Ethnic Affairs Naw Pan Thinzar Myo during the ninth regular session of Yangon Region Parliament held on January 27. Yangon Region MP Kyaw Zeya asked several questions about the number of tourists who arrived last year on zero budget dollar tours, how much revenue was received and any government plan to ensure that zero budget tour benefits local ethnic entrepreneurs in one way. "From January to December 2019, 749,719 Chinese tourists entered Myanmar and of them 344,268 came to Yangon Region," the minister said. "In comparison with 2018, the arrival of Chinese tourists improved 73 percent in 2019. Increase is due to visa relaxation and our 'Look East' policy. As the number of visitors from the West decreases, our policy and visa relaxation for Southeast Asian countries help increase the tourist arrival," she said..."
Source/publisher: "Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-29
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Title: China, Russia under pressure from Myanmar Rohingya genocide ruling, Bob Rae says
Description: "China and Russia face pressure to prevent genocide in Myanmar after Thursday’s decision by an international court called on the South Asian country to stop the killing, says Canada’s special envoy to the crisis. The unanimous decision by the International Court of Justice is a strong signal to Russia and China, which have blocked the United Nations Security Council from referring the violence to the International Criminal Court, said Bob Rae, who the Liberal government tapped to take part in diplomatic efforts to address the deadly crisis. Rae and Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne both urged Myanmar to fully comply with the ruling from The Hague-based court, which demanded it protect its minority Muslim Rohingya population from genocide. Champagne said Canada will work with its allies to keep the pressure on Myanmar. The 17 judges on the panel called on Myanmar to do everything in its power to stop what it said was a genocide against the Rohingya. The court flatly rejected Myanmar’s plea — put forth by the country’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi — that the case be thrown out. Suu Kyi, a one-time icon of peace who has since been stripped of her honorary Canadian citizenship, denied there was a genocide..."
Source/publisher: "Toronto Star" ( Toronto)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-24
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Title: China-Myanmar Ties to Reshape Geopolitics of Indian Ocean Region
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 entry/update: 2020-01-23
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Title: Myanmar's Ethnic Political Parties See Little Local Benefit From China-Backed Projects
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 entry/update: 2020-01-23
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Title: Ports, trains and trade: Xi Jinping to offer Myanmar billion-dollar bounty
Summary: "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...
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 entry/update: 2020-01-23
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Title: China signs raft of agreements with Myanmar to accelerate infrastructure projects
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 entry/update: 2020-01-22
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Title: China supports Myanmar despite Rohingya genocide accusations
Description: "China’s president Xi Jinping expressed his support for Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is accused of overseeing a genocide against Rohingya Muslims. During a meeting in Myanmar with Suu Kyi, Xi signed 33 infrastructure and trade deals between the two countries, a move that makes China Myanmar’s largest investor. According to Myanmar’s state-run media, Xi called his visit a “historical moment” for their bilateral relations. Suu Kyi, a 74-year-old Nobel peace laureate, was once seen on the same level as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi. Her reputation has been damaged however, when she defended her country against a genocide complaint at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. She said that Myanmar was defending itself against attacks by militants. The country denounces claims that it tried to exterminate the minoruty in a bloody 2017 crackdown by its military, during which some 740,000 Rohingya were forced to flee into camps in Bangladesh. Next week the court will rule on whether “emergency measures” should be taken against Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: New Europe (Brussels)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-21
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Title: China, Myanmar have productive exchange during Xi's visit
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 entry/update: 2020-01-21
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Title: China, Myanmar tighten their Belt and Road ties
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 entry/update: 2020-01-21
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Title: Belt and Road Initiative: China, Myanmar ink raft of deals
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 entry/update: 2020-01-20
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Title: China inks deal with Myanmar on 33 MoUs including Kyaukphyu and Yangon development projects
Description: "During his visit to Myanmar, Chinese President Xi Jinping signed 33 Memorandum of Understanding agreements, protocols and exchanges including the Kyaukphyu and Yangon development projects. The 33 MoUs, Agreements, Protocols and Exchanges are as follows: ..."
Source/publisher: "Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-20
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Title: China and Myanmar both benefit from strengthening relations
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 entry/update: 2020-01-20
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Title: China president holds talks with Myanmar
Summary: "China has reaffirmed its willingness to provide further support, within its capacity, to Myanmar in the Rohingya repatriation process and resettlement of the displaced people from Rakhine State....
Description: "China has reaffirmed its willingness to provide further support, within its capacity, to Myanmar in the Rohingya repatriation process and resettlement of the displaced people from Rakhine State. This was mentioned in a statement issued on Sunday at the end of the visit of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s two-day state visit to Myanmar. The two countries signed a number of deals. The Chinese side supports the efforts of Myanmar to address the humanitarian situation and promote peace, stability and development for all communities in Rakhine State, reads the statement. Myanmar reiterated its commitment to receive verified displaced people based on the bilateral agreement reached between Myanmar and Bangladesh, according to the joint statement. Myanmar thanked China for its understanding of the complexity of the issue and for all its support to Myanmar. Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a repatriation deal on November 23, 2017. On January 16, 2018, Bangladesh and Myanmar inked a document on ‘Physical Arrangement’, which was supposed to facilitate the repatriation..."
Source/publisher: newagebd.net
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-20
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Title: China struggles in new diplomatic role, trying to return Rohingya to Myanmar
Description: "In a muddy field in western Myanmar, hundreds of Chinese shipping containers fitted with single narrow windows stand in neat lines, empty of the refugees they were designed to host. The gray boxes were sent by China two years ago as quick and cheap housing for some of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled Myanmar for Bangladesh during a military-led crackdown in 2017 that the United Nations said was conducted with genocidal intent. The empty containers, situated near the town of Maungdaw in Rakhine state, reflect months of failed efforts to entice the Rohingya to return to Myanmar despite a diplomatic drive by the country’s close ally and neighbor, China. In a sharp departure from its official policy of non-interference in the affairs of other countries, China has positioned itself as the key mediator in resolving the protracted crisis. But like the Indonesian and United Nations envoys who previously attempted to mediate between the parties, China is finding the business of diplomacy tough going, with little signs that the crisis will soon be resolved..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-20
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Title: Myanmar and China agree to speed projects but ink no new deals
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 entry/update: 2020-01-20
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Title: Myanmar, China ink Belt and Road deals
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 entry/update: 2020-01-20
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Title: China and Myanmar sign off on Belt and Road projects
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 entry/update: 2020-01-19
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Title: China, Myanmar agree to jointly build community with shared future
Description: "Chinese President Xi Jinping and Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi announced the decision during their formal talks in the Myanmar capital of Nay Pyi Taw on Saturday. Xi said that enjoying a profound "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship, China and Myanmar face new development opportunities in bilateral ties as both countries have entered a new stage of national development. This time, the two sides have decided to jointly build a China-Myanmar community with a shared future, ushering in a new era of bilateral relations, Xi said. The president urged efforts to implement the decision, systematically plan and deploy next-phase exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and strengthen political guidance for bilateral relations, so as to push China-Myanmar relations to a higher level. Firstly, Xi said, the two countries should accelerate the alignment of their development strategies and put more efforts into the construction of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC). The two sides should advance their five-year plan for economic and trade cooperation, effectively dovetail their development strategies, and well implement their economic and trade as well as production capacity cooperation. Stressing the overriding importance of the CMEC in their Belt and Road cooperation, Xi said the two sides have started the substantive construction of the CMEC, adding that the two sides should work to increase the sense of gain of both peoples, the Myanmar people especially, as soon as possible. Secondly, the two countries should focus on flagship cooperation projects to strengthen connectivity, Xi said. China and Myanmar have agreed to allow the Kyaukphyu projects to play a demonstrative and driving role in the CMEC, and accelerate the construction of the China-Myanmar Border Economic Cooperation Zone and the New Yangon City, so as to complete the overall layout of the economic corridor supported by the north, east and west ends..."
Source/publisher: "CCTV" (China)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-19
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Title: China, Myanmar vow to accelerate Belt and Road cooperation
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 entry/update: 2020-01-19
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Title: Chinese President Xi Jinping wraps up Myanmar visit with string of infrastructure deals, including strategic Indian Ocean port
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 entry/update: 2020-01-19
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Title: Kyaukpyu port to become model project in China-Myanmar BRI cooperation
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 entry/update: 2020-01-19
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Title: Myanmar Church concerned over China-backed dam
Sub-title: Bishop Raymond Sumlut Gam of Banmaw in Kachin State and Myanmar’s Catholic Church leaders are opposed to the revival of the stalled Myitsone dam project in Kachin state
Description: "A Myanmar Church official has expressed anxiety over the restarting of the China-backed Myitsone dam project on the Irrawaddy River in the conflict-torn northern state of Kachin. The concerns grew with the historic state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Myanmar, January 17-18. This is Xi's first visit to China’s southern neighbour and the first visit of any Chinese president in 19 years. Bishop Raymond Sumlut Gam of Banmaw in Kachin State has expressed concerns over the revival of the controversial Myitsone mega-dam project with this visit. “The Church’s stance is on the dam’s impact on both the environment and on the people,” Bishop Gam told UCA News. He said Myanmar and China leaders might talk about restarting the project, suspended in 2017. However, China may not further push for the project’s revival as it is likely to face strong opposition from the people, affecting other development projects. “We are awaiting the answers on the fate of Myitsone with bated breath,” he said. More than 40 Kachin organizations have called on Xi to permanently cancel the Myitsone Dam project..."
Source/publisher: "Vatican News"
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-19
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Title: Myanmar: First state visit in almost 20 years highlights China’s role in human rights crisis
Summary: "Ahead of President Xi Jinping’s two-day state visit to Myanmar, which begins on Friday 17 January 2020, Amnesty International’s Regional Director, Nicholas Bequelin, said: “President Xi’s...
Description: "Ahead of President Xi Jinping’s two-day state visit to Myanmar, which begins on Friday 17 January 2020, Amnesty International’s Regional Director, Nicholas Bequelin, said: “President Xi’s government has expressed its desire to help solve the situation in Rakhine State. While this is welcome in principle, the reality is that China’s engagement has failed to yield positive results for the people of Myanmar. “China must stop using its position in the UN Security Council to shield Myanmar’s senior generals from accountability. This has only emboldened the military’s relentless campaign of human rights violations and war crimes against ethnic minorities across the country. “Almost a million Rohingya languish in refugee camps in Bangladesh while 600,000 still in Myanmar continue to live under appalling conditions of apartheid. If it fails to pressure Myanmar to ensure justice and restore Rohingya’s rights, China’s efforts to resolve the situation will remain ineffective – and counter-productive. “With major economic and infrastructure agreements expected to be signed during President Xi’s visit, the absolute lack of transparency over such agreements is deeply disturbing. Investment in infrastructure can help raise living standards and realize human rights through improved access to basic services and employment. But these benefits are not delivered if those who bear the heaviest cost - the women, men, and children whose homes, health, livelihoods might be affected – are not adequately consulted before construction starts and protected from potential harm. Human rights, transparency, and consultation with communities should be at the heart of these projects.”..."
Source/publisher: "Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-19
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Title: Xi stresses importance of China-Myanmar "Paukphaw" friendship
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 entry/update: 2020-01-19
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Title: China and Myanmar 'stand together' despite Rohingya backlash
Sub-title: A 2017 military crackdown on the Muslim minority, which UN investigators have called genocide, forced some 740,000 people over the border into Bangladesh. Beijing has stood strongly beside Myanmar and the Asian giant is now the country's largest investor even as distrust of its ambitions lingers among the public.
Description: "China and Myanmar inked dozens of mammoth infrastructure and trade deals after a meeting Saturday between President Xi Jinping and fallen rights icon Aung San Suu Kyi, as Beijing doubles down on its support for a government under fire for its treatment of Rohingya Muslims. The Chinese leader's two-day state visit to Myanmar's purpose-built capital comes as Western investors cast a wide berth around the country due to the Rohingya crisis. A 2017 military crackdown on the Muslim minority, which UN investigators have called genocide, forced some 740,000 people over the border into Bangladesh. Beijing has stood strongly beside Myanmar and the Asian giant is now the country's largest investor even as distrust of its ambitions lingers among the public. More than 30 agreements were signed Saturday on Xi's final day of his visit -- with Suu Kyi and Xi seated across from each other on long tables alongside related ministers..."
Source/publisher: "The Economic Times" (India)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-18
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Title: How does the BRI bear witness to China and Myanmar's friendship?
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 entry/update: 2020-01-18
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Title: Myanmar CSOs Urge Xi Jinping to Terminate Myitsone Dam Project
Summary: "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...
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 entry/update: 2020-01-18
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Title: Myanmar's version of 'China: Time of Xi' documentary released
Description: "The Myanmar version of "China: Time of Xi", a documentary about China's governance, has been released in the capital Yangon ahead of President Xi Jinping's state visit to the country on Thursday. The three-episode documentary, jointly presented by the China Intercontinental Communication Center and the Discovery Channel from the U.S., systematically illustrates the practice and achievements in the governance of China under Xi's leadership through a series of vivid stories. The documentary has been popular in China and abroad after being broadcast on several global media platforms. It will be broadcast on Myanmar's Skynet TV in the evenings from January 16 to 18, and then will land on other local mainstream media platforms. Attendees at the launch ceremony spoke highly of the documentary and thought it was of great significance to broadcast the documentary, as the two countries celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year..."
Source/publisher: "China Global Television Network (CGTN)" (China)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-18
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Title: When Xi met Suu Kyi: China embraces Myanmar as Western nations pull back
Description: "A decade ago, Myanmar’s generals, setting out to show they were serious about liberalizing after half a century of brutal military rule, made a bold play: They snubbed China, canceling a joint multibillion-dollar dam project, and embraced the West. In the period that followed, President Barack Obama visited Myanmar twice. He was photographed kissing the cheek of Aung San Suu Kyi, the former democracy activist who later became Myanmar’s civilian leader. He met with former generals, signaling a readiness to open a new chapter with a nation long encumbered by U.S. sanctions. Then came the exodus of nearly 1 million Rohingya Muslims, driven from their homes by Myanmar’s military in a scorched-earth campaign that drew a Western outcry and charges of genocide. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate, led Myanmar’s defense at the International Court of Justice last month; a provisional ruling is expected next week..."
Source/publisher: "The Washington Post" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-18
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Title: Xi Courts an Isolated Myanmar in First State Visit of the Year
Description: "Sign up for Next China, a weekly email on where the nation stands now and where it's going next. In China’s carefully choreographed diplomatic calendar, the itinerary of the president’s first overseas trip can send signals about his long-term strategic goals. In 2017, Xi Jinping opened with a speech at the World Economic Forum defending globalization from criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump. A year earlier, he became the first major world leader to visit Iran after international sanctions were lifted. This year, Xi’s first state visit will be to conflict-torn Myanmar. While the European Union and the U.S. have criticized Myanmar for what the United Nations has called genocidal acts against its minority Rohingya population, China, which often faces scrutiny over its own human rights record, is continuing its role as a vocal supporter. Upon his arrival to the capital of Naypyidaw on Friday, Xi will meet with de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who last month defended Myanmar at the International Court of Justice in the Hague over accusations the country’s military had committed atrocities with “genocidal intent,” forcing more than 700,000 ethnic Muslims to flee across the Bangladesh border. Suu Kyi rejected the case brought by the Gambia as “incomplete and misleading” and said the exodus of civilians was caused by an ongoing internal armed conflict with insurgents..."
Source/publisher: "Bloomberg News" (New York)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-18
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Title: Xi Jinping says China firmly supports Myanmar's efforts along its own path
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 entry/update: 2020-01-18
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Title: Xi Jinping visits Myanmar: economics and geopolitics on the table
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 entry/update: 2020-01-18
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Title: China and Myanmar launch new era of relations
Summary: "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...
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 entry/update: 2020-01-17
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Title: China turns to Myanmar as the ‘friendly giant in the neighbourhood’
Sub-title: When Xi Jinping arrives in the Southeast Asian nation for the first state visit in 19 years, he will come bearing gifts – billions of dollars of investment projects...China has been its closest ally for two decades, and the country presents a particular opportunity for Xi and Beijing’s broader ambitions.
Description: "China’s president, on a visit to Myanmar, took in the sights with a tour of the Buddhist temples in Bagan and vowed to pour investment into the country even as the United Nations criticised the local government for violation of human rights. That was 19 years ago and the visitor was Jiang Zemin. On Friday, when President Xi Jinping arrives in Myanmar for the first state visit since 2001, he may well gaze upon the same temples his predecessor saw, he will repeat plans for investment in the neighbouring country, and again Myanmar faces condemnation over human rights abuses. What’s changed, though, is China and its ambitions. In between the two visits, China leapfrogged Thailand to become Myanmar’s biggest trading partner and eventually unseated Japan as the world’s second-largest economy after the US. With that economic clout, Beijing asserted itself in international affairs – China now has more embassies around the world than any other country – only to bang heads with the West, especially the US, as its influence spread. Closer to home China has exercised claims over regions of the South China Sea, causing disputes with Asian neighbours from Vietnam to the Philippines and Indonesia..."
Source/publisher: "South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-17
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Title: China's Xi makes a 'historic' visit to Myanmar
Summary: "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...
Sub-title: China's President Xi Jinping is expected to tie up Belt and Road Initiative deals during his visit to Myanmar.
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 entry/update: 2020-01-17
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Title: China's Xi turns to Myanmar as he pushes for 'Belt and Road' plan
Summary: "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-...
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.
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 entry/update: 2020-01-17
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Title: Myanmar Unrolls a Welcome Mat for China, but Not All the Way
Sub-title: As Xi Jinping visits Myanmar, fighting in ethnic borderlands threatens China’s ambitious investment plans.
Description: "As the leader of China, Xi Jinping, touches down in Myanmar on Friday, his two-day visit is designed to celebrate Beijing’s expanding presence in the region, both as an economic and political role model. But relations between the two neighbors have never been so simple. China is by far the largest foreign investor in Myanmar, which boasts a trove of natural resources. And China also provides a road map for how one of Asia’s poorest nations might lift its citizens out of hand-to-mouth existences. “China’s remarkable poverty reduction has led it to become a modern developed nation,” said U Thein Myint Wai, a Myanmar economist and former commerce ministry official. “There will be a positive impact of working with such a nation.” Beijing also reliably defends its smaller neighbor in the international arena, where the Myanmar military has been accused of a genocidal campaign against Rohingya Muslims in the country’s far west..."
Source/publisher: "The New York Times" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-17
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Title: China helps Myanmar solve electricity shortage
Description: "Chinese electricity companies have been working with local residents in Myanmar to help the latter tackle electricity shortages. Of Myanmar’s 10.88 million households, half have experienced electricity shortages and about 43,000 villages have yet to be connected to the national electricity network. Myanmar’s State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi had said that to improve people’s livelihood, the first thing to do is to develop the electricity industry. To increase electricity supply and develop the electricity industry is the priority task of the Myanmar government, as well as the urgent need of the country to boost economy and improve people’s well-being. U Thaung Tun, Myanmar’s Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations, expressed that Myanmar is willing to accelerate implementation of cooperative projects with China in key fields such as electricity and transportation.
Source/publisher: "News Ghana" (Ghana)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-16
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Title: China sees Myanmar as stepping stone to Indian Ocean, energy security
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 entry/update: 2020-01-16
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Title: UWSP says peace could be found during Xi’s visit
Description: "The United Wa State Party (UWSP) says that they expect the solution for resolving fighting between government troops and northern Myanmar based ethnic armed forces will be found during Chinese President Xi’s visit to Myanmar. The statement issued by UWSP/UWSA (United Wa State Army) welcomes President Xi’s visit to Myanmar and added that peace in northern Myanmar was concerned with Sino-Myanmar relations and development among people (with China). The statement suggests that China plays a crucial role in restoring peace in Myanmar especially a ceasefire with ethnic armed groups in the Northern Alliance..."
Source/publisher: "Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-16
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Title: What China’s Xi will and won’t get in Myanmar
Summary: "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...
Sub-title: Chinese leader to make historic Jan 17-18 visit in bid to advance contested Belt and Road Initiative
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 entry/update: 2020-01-16
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Title: Xi visits Myanmar to push Belt and Road plan
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 entry/update: 2020-01-16
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Title: China-Myanmar pipeline carries 10.8M tonnes crude oil in 2019
Description: "China imported 10.8 million tonnes of crude oil via the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline in 2019, up 6.3 percent year on year, according to the Kunming Customs in southwest China's Yunnan Province. The Kunming Customs said Tuesday that the import value amounted to 37.7 billion yuan (about 5.5 billion U.S. dollars), up 3.9 percent. Meanwhile, the imports of natural gas from Myanmar amounted to 3.4 million tonnes, up 54 percent from 2018, with a total value of 12.1 billion yuan, an annual increase of 74.1 percent. Crude oil started entering China via the 1,420-km China-Myanmar crude oil pipeline from June 2017, and the China-Myanmar natural gas pipeline was put into operation in July 2013. According to the Dehong oil and gas transmission branch of the China National Petroleum Corporation, China has imported about 26.9 million tonnes of crude oil and 24.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas through the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China) via "China.org.cn" (China)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-15
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Title: China's Xi visits Myanmar to drive home Belt and Road plan
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 entry/update: 2020-01-15
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Title: Myanmar's Rakhine state teetering towards war
Summary: "Rakhine state is descending into growing turmoil. Globally long associated primarily with the brutal oppression of the Rohingya, the much wider dimensions of Rakhine's troubles are now visible,...
Description: "Rakhine state is descending into growing turmoil. Globally long associated primarily with the brutal oppression of the Rohingya, the much wider dimensions of Rakhine's troubles are now visible, including their international implications. Given their complexity, a broader perspective is badly needed to help bring about stability, development and prosperity for all Rakhine's people. Governments around the world, but especially in the region, have a legitimate role to play in helping to find solutions. Rakhine lies at the crossroads of Asia and its stability, ethnic harmony and economic promise are important for both South Asia and Southeast Asia. As a matter of course, that includes Asean. Moreover, its membership reflects a diversity similar to that of Rakhine state. It is to be hoped that in-depth discussions on this issue will be held at the Asean foreign ministers retreat in Vietnam this week..."
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-15
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Title: New air route links China's island province, Myanmar
Description: "A new direct air route is set to be launched later Tuesday between Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, and Myanmar's Rangoon. The flight is the second direct route linking Hainan with Myanmar. The air route is operated by China's Jiuyuan Airlines, with three round trips scheduled every week. The outbound flight AQ1133 will leave Haikou Meilan International Airport at 11:00 p.m. Beijing Time on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and is scheduled to land in Rangoon at 00:35 a.m. local time the following day. The inbound flight AQ1134 will leave Rangoon at 01:35 a.m. local time and land in Haikou at 06:00 a.m. Beijing time every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Qiu Jianming, the marketing director of Jiuyuan Airlines, said the company started to operate flights to Myanmar in October, 2018 and has opened three direct air routes connecting Guangzhou, Guiyang and Changsha with Myanmar. "Myanmar is an important country participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. We value the market of Myanmar," said Qiu..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China) via "China.org.cn" (China)
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-15
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