China has massive commitments to projects in mining, hydropower and other construction, part of the $21.5 billion it has pledged in investment in Myanmar. (2) Myanmar Times Daily Edition (English) (6) Myanmar Times Twitter Page Western Union this week became the latest foreign firm to cut ties with Myanmar military companies. In the market, stalls of … Bilateral relations have warmed since the days when U Thein Sein halted Myitsone dam, as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi faces a barricade of criticisms from the international community, including those in Europe and America, for her handling of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in northern Rakhine. (3) Myanmar Times WEEKEND “China will have greater leverage to pull Myanmar further into the orbit of its own plans for economic development,” said John G. Dale, a professor at George Mason University in Virginia. Looking ahead, Ma Khin Khin Kyaw Kyee said Myanmar would move even closer to China’s orbit as the international backlash against the State Counsellor’s defence against accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice last month. The project proponents are expected to initiate the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) and preliminary geological survey soon, hiring Canadian firm Hatch as project manager. The port in Rakhine State in western Myanmar will be the entry port for a Chinese oil and gas pipeline. The visit was seen in part as an endorsement of the victory of Suu Kyi’s party in the November election and partly as a signal Beijing would like to see faster progress on projects agreed to a year earlier. The Chinese leader’s visit to Myanmar, his first foreign trip of 2020, aims to send a signal that Beijing is back in the driver’s seat — at the West’s expense. At a briefing on the situation at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, the U.N. envoy for Myanmar condemned the coup and urged the council to support democracy in the country. But while the coup may lead Myanmar’s leaders to lean more heavily on support from China, supplier of most of their weapons and one of the country’s biggest sources of foreign investment, researcher Zhao Gancheng at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, says it was an unwelcome disruption. The industrial park involves three agreements: an investment, shareholder and lease agreement, while the port requires a concession agreement on top of those three agreements. After nearly a decade of reforms and gradual opening of Myanmar’s long-isolated economy, U.S. and other Western businesses have made only tentative investments, usually with local or other Asian partners. China is the most important supplier of military aid and maintains extensive strategic and military cooperation. FILE - In this April 24, 2019, file photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, shakes hands with Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi’s visit is seen as an attempt to further cement bilateral relations and pushing ahead the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor scheme as well as other projects under the Belt and Road Initiative. That will likely soften the blow of any U.S. sanctions, which Min Aung Hlaing has doubtless already anticipated and dismissed,” they said in a report. The military’s commander in chief, Min Aung Hliang, has taken charge of the new government under a one-year state of emergency. (4) Myanmar Times Websites (Myanmar/English) Xi will meet with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as well as Commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing during his trip, China’s vice foreign minister Luo Zhaohui said at a press conference on Friday. As Myanmar’s second big investor after Singapore, China has invested $21.5 billion in Myanmar so far and accounts for one-third of all Myanmar trade. On Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China was studying the situation, describing Myanmar as a “friendly neighbor.” He urged Myanmar to properly handle the situation according to its laws and constitution and “maintain political and social stability.”. Last week, the Chinese consortium leading a deep-water port project in Kyaukphyu, on the northwestern coast, began seeking bids for environmental assessments of the project. But while China’s ruling Communist Party tends to favor fellow authoritarian regimes, it has had a fractious history with Myanmar’s military, sometimes related to its campaigns against ethnic Chinese minority groups and the drug trade along their long, mountainous border. (1) Myanmar Times Daily (Myanmar) Last week, the Chinese consortium leading a deep-water port project in Kyaukphyu, on the northwestern coast, began seeking bids for environmental assessments of the project. Min Aung Hliang is a major investor in Myanma Economic Holdings PLC, a conglomerate set up by the military in 1990 that has major joint projects with Chinese corporations, including the Letpadaung copper mine. “Their insecurity has deepened as (Suu Kyi) consolidated her power within the country and deepened ties with countries such as China.”. Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi attend a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding at the Presidential Palace in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Jan. 18, 2020. Two will be signed,” deputy commerce minister U Aung Htoo told the reporters in Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday, referring to the “framework agreement” signed by the two sides in late 2018. “As a neighboring country, I can’t see anything good for China, given that all of China’s investments and infrastructure construction need a stable environment,” Zhao said. The Chinese company argued that the port itself was not worth the $1.1 billion it would pay for its equity — money that would close out Sri Lanka’s debt on the port. “China has strategic, vested interests in keeping Myanmar as stable as they possibly can,” said Chris Ankersen, a professor at the NYU School of Professional Studies Center for Global Affairs. “It works to China’s advantage to be seen as someone who has to be consulted.”. The area around Yangon and Lower Myanmar was traditionally populated with Han Chinese from Fujian and Guangdong, whereas the areas around Mandalay and Upper Myanmar such as Kokang were traditionally populated with Han Chinese from Yunnan. The coup deposed national leader Aung San Suu Kyi a little over a year after Chinese President Xi Jinping made a show of support to her with the first visit by a head of … That’s especially likely if the U.S. and other Western governments impose sanctions to try to punish the regime. “And the largest foreign player in Myanmar’s economy, China, will be all too happy to recalibrate its engagement to recognize the new facts on the ground. Kyaukphyu port’s 2018 framework agreement paves way for an actual concession-granting deal, said executive president of CITIC Myanmar Yuan Shaobin in 2017. Photo: EPA. China and Myanmar signed an agreement on Thursday to build the deep sea port project in Kyaukpyu town after negotiations dragged for years due to financing and other issues, state-run Global Times reported on Friday. Even if China played no role at all in ousting Suu Kyi, Beijing is likely to gain still greater sway over the country, analysts say. The military has been the most powerful institution in Myanmar since the country’s independence from Britain in 1948. A beach in Kyaukpyu, Myanmar, where a $7.3 billion Chinese-backed port project had been planned. CITIC Group has won a contract to develop a port in Kyaukpyu on the Bay of Bengal. Prior announcement will be made when the businesses can be resumed. ... north as well as the geo-strategic implications of Chinese port … One of the most watched developments is the highly-anticipated inking of Kyaukphyu port, a China-backed scheme under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Other Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) are also expected to be signed during the Chinese leader’s visit, including the export of crops and cattle, according to the minister, who made no mention of the now-suspended Myitsone dam. The military coup on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021 deposed national leader Aung San Suu Kyi a little over a year after Chinese President Xi Jinping made a show of support to her with the first visit by a head of state from Beijing to Myanmar since 2001 and 33 agreements on a wide range of issues. China is also developing deep water strategic Gwadar port in Pakistan in the Arabian Sea which faces the Mumbai coast. In the past, the military has at times sought to counter growing Chinese influence over the economy, showing “a more independent streak that sought to balance against Chinese influence,” said Patel of Chatham House. Of the total direct foreign investment in Myanmar, China now accounts for over 25 per cent. An anchor of Beijing’s “Belt and Road Initiative” to build infrastructure across much of Asia linking its economy to the rest of the world, it will give China coveted overland access to the Bay of Bengal. And Japan, Singapore and other countries that are more heavily invested in Myanmar are likely to balk at harsh measures against the newly established military regime, say Gregory B. Poling and Simon Tran Hudes of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. China has invested billions of dollars in Myanmar mines, oil and gas pipelines and other infrastructure and is its biggest trading partner. Xi’s Myanmar visit to move ahead China-backed port, Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks after his arrival at Macao International Airport in Macao, China, on December 18, 2019. “There are seven agreements under the framework agreement for Kyaukphyu. © Copyright 2021 The Myanmar Times. Western governments that already have imposed sanctions against Min Aung Hliang and other top military leaders and businesses over human rights abuses therefore have relatively scant leverage in persuading Myanmar’s leaders to restore civilian rule. Myanmar and China are expected to ink a deal on the US$1.3 billion Kyaukphyu port project during President Xi Jinping’s visit this month. Beijing-backed plans for road and rail construction linking Muse and Mandalay were undermined when parts of northern Shan State had bridges blown up and roads ambushed in mid-2019 because of fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Brotherhood Alliance, a coalition of ethnic armed groups. Aug. 8: U Win Khaing, Union minister for electricity, meets Ambassador Chen to discuss cooperation on electricity and power for BRI projects. Negotiations stalled in the first two years under the National League for Democracy-led government, which then renegotiated the port’s price tag from US$7.5 billion to $1.3 billion. (5) Myanmar Times Facebook Pages (Myanmar/English) (7) Myanmar Times News App Associated Press researcher Yu Bing in Beijing and Associated Press writers Grant Peck in Bangkok and Victoria Milko in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report. China is by far the biggest source of cumulative FDI commitments in Myanmar, while Beijing is seen by Nay Pyi Taw as a key stakeholder in the peace process. It was partly a backlash against China’s growing dominance of Myanmar’s economy a decade ago that led the previous junta to shift toward democratic reforms and the civilian government that enabled Suu Kyi to join Parliament and become the nation’s de facto leader, even as the military retained ultimate power. The military coup in Myanmar is unlikely to be overturned and China seem's poised to gain the most from the fall of democracy. Myanmar’s corn exports on the rise but Thai imports more than halved, Mandalay market sees 10 pc drop in prices, Myanmar to prioritise economic recovery, says minister, Internet cut spells trouble for online businesses in Myanmar, Myanmar businesses call for stability in banking sector, IT associations call for amendments to Myanmar cybersecurity bill. Myanmar Consolidated Media Co., Ltd. will temporarily suspend 3 months the following businesses starting from 21 February 2021 at 10:00 am. Regardless of what internal politics, antagonisms and personal ambitions might have driven Min Aung Hliang and other military leaders to seize power, China is bound to continue to expand its influence in Myanmar given the huge projects already under construction and the depth of Chinese involvement in businesses ranging from casinos, factories and property development to pipelines and ports. Myanmar’s government is working on a deal to scale that project down to $1.3 billion. But the generals control big chunks of Myanmar’s economy and will likely maneuver to maximize what they can gain through dealings with their Chinese partners. “As this trip is to foster positive relations and this is the year [marking the] 70th anniversary of China-Myanmar diplomatic relations, I don't think China would do such an inconsiderate move,” said Ma Khin Khin Kyaw Kyee of the Institute of Strategy and Policy Myanmar, referring to the resumption of Myitsone dam.