China support vital to Myanmar’s transition
President Xi Jinping visited Myanmar for the first state visit of the top leader from China in 19 years. The visit coincided with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Myanmar.
It reminds me of the glorious old days in the 1950s, the period of close and cordial relationships between the leaders of both sides amid the tense atmosphere of the Cold War. The leaders at that time, Premier Zhou Enlai from China and Prime Minister U Nu and General Ne Win from Myanmar had jointly undertaken a number of hard jobs in bilateral cooperation and friendship, such as the successful completion of the boundary demarcation treaty, China-Myanmar Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Non-Aggression, etc. On top of those would be the declaration of five principles of peaceful coexistence together with India. The time-tested principles are still useful and relevant for developing countries in the current international circumstances of instability and great powers rivalry.
Myanmar and China already signed the “Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership Agreement,” a kind of top level agreement between the two nations. Nevertheless, realization of that agreement is still slow and faces challenges due to local and international situations. There are problems and difficulties demanding close collaboration and coordination between the two countries such as security and stability issues in border areas, transboundary organized crime, a physical infrastructure deficit of Myanmar in regional connectivity, weak inter-community communication and people-to-people relations, international interference by outside powers, etc. President Xi’s visit, hopefully, sought to find effective ways to overcome such challenges.
As a matter of fact, both countries have strong mutual interests in various areas for further cooperation. China’s mega project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a game changer in international strategic landscape, needs active participation of partners including Myanmar.
Myanmar provides a gateway to the global market via the Indian Ocean and South Asia through land routes for land-locked southwestern provinces of China like Yunnan and Sichuan. Myanmar is thus indispensable for regional and bilateral projects of the BRI like the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor. Such projects could substantially enhance Myanmar’s national development since they are in line with Myanmar’s own national comprehensive development strategy that is based on regional economic integrity.
From a strategic perspective, the ASEAN region including Myanmar is inevitably tangled in global powers rivalry between China and the US in the Asia-Pacific theater. Myanmar, situated at the strategic nexus bridging three important regions i.e. China, South Asia and mainland Southeast Asia, becomes a pivotal area attracting foreign powers’ interference in its domestic affairs. That threatens the stability and security of Myanmar, a country in transition, as well as success of Chinese BRI projects in the area. It is in China’s interests to maintain stability and keep prosperity around its periphery. Such factors call for closer cooperation and coordination between China and Myanmar.
Regarding economic cooperation,
China is the largest trading partner of and crucial investor in Myanmar. Being an agricultural country, Myanmar’s principal export commodity is rice which depends mainly on the Chinese market. Moreover, import volume from China is growing fast. Items include consumer products and machinery. That shows the significance of China in Myanmar’s economy. In order to balance trade disparity and improve productivity, Myanmar needs immediate broad modernization efforts and deep cooperation from the largest industrial power, China. Not only for an ample market of over 50 million people, but also for access to neighboring countries, Myanmar also happens to be an important economic partner of China.
Politically, China often supports Myanmar when the latter faces tricky situation in the international arena and its strategic weight is crucial for Myanmar, which is now under political scrutiny from various directions. At the same time, peace and prosperity of its southwestern neighbor will surely support China’s great ambitions for the BRI. That is why China is helping Myanmar in the peace processes and helping solve the Rohingya crisis.
All the sectors mentioned above indicate the requirement of cementing bilateral ties and cooperation at the highest level. And President Xi’s visit can fulfill those requirements.
Xi’s visit, and agreements made during the trip, will not instantly solve all the problems and challenges between the two countries. Many Myanmar analysts, however, believe that this visit will open a new chapter in bilateral relations toward a much higher stratum backed by the sufficient political and economic might of China.