China-Myanmar relation in the Suu Kyi's age
- By Song Qingrun
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E-mail China.org.cn, April 25, 2016
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Myanmar's Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi (R) shakes hands with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during a joint press conference after their meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, April 5, 2016. (Xinhua/U Aung) |
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Myanmar counterpart Aung San Suu Kyi in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar on April 5.
Despite Suu Kyi's close relations with the West, China's top diplomat was the first foreign minister to have visited the Southeast Asian country after its new government took office earlier this year, which demonstrates Suu Kyi's friendly attitude toward its neighbor and her willingness to tackle domestic problems by cooperating with China in the wake of its political upheaval.
Wang's visit showed that the change in Myanmar's political landscape is not hindering bilateral relations. However, it should be noted that China and Myanmar, which share a long and porous border, still face a number of difficulties.
Closer together
The two leaders' meeting came one week before the country's New Year water festival at a time when the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Suu Kyi, was bracing for new challenges as the ruling party of the country. Wang also met with top leaders including President Htin Kyaw, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and General Secretary of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) Tin NaingThein.
This shows that Myanmar's government is attaching great importance to its relations with China. It also has the following implications.
First, China-Myanmar relations will not be shaken up due to the country's political upheaval. The fact that the two ministers were talking about their "paukphaw friendship" ("brotherly friendship" in Burmese) acts as a reassuring force for the two neighbors as well as the outside world.
Second, it also implies that the pro-West Aung San Suu Kyi, the de-facto leader of the new administration, will not go against China. The new government, as well as Suu Kyi, understands that taking sides in the geopolitical game is harmful for the country. They are more focused on boosting the economy and improving people's well-being.
As Myanmar's biggest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), China's total investment volume registered US$22 billion (including those from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao), accounting for 40 percent of its total, which dwarfs those of the U.S., Japan and the U.K. In the long run, the Western world seems to have doubts in investing large infrastructure programs with a long cycle, of which the country is in urgent need. In contrast, China's "Belt and Road" initiative, in itself, contains many potential infrastructure projects in the country.
Concerns loom large
Despite a good start since the new government took office, Beijing-Yangon bilateral trade and cooperation still faces many uncertainties, especially when it comes to the suspended Myitsone Dame project and the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which several Chinese enterprises, notably the CITIC Group, hope to develop.
In recent years, Myanmar is generally having a deficit in bilateral trade with China, several big projects such as the development of the hydropower station and the China-Myanmar railway are still in the doldrums, and China's investment in the country has also been trending down since 2011. The reasons are manifold.
Many Chinese enterprises lack an understanding of Myanmar's conditions and have little risk awareness in doing business in the country. Most of their investment projects are about developing energy and resources, which easily led to local's misunderstanding as well.
Moreover, the Western media and non-government organizations (NGOs) are keen to collect evidence against Chinese businesses in the country in order to stoke public resentment, causing several large projects to remain suspended.
In order to advance these cooperation projects, several things should be better understood.
First, it will take time for the new government to understand these major projects. The projects that were inked years ago may have some deficiencies by today's standards of transparency.
Second, for the Myitsone project, Aung San Suu Kyi claimed last year that she would make the contract open to the public if her party were to win the election. She also argued that Myanmar needs to follow its commitment in order to win respect from the international community. However, resuming the long suspended project faces much resistance from the local community.
Third, it will take time for the new government to become familiar with the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone, with Chinese enterprises like CITIC Group aiming to become involved in its construction. Worried about land seizure and pollution, the local community asked the authorities to postpone the project. Moreover, the ruling NLD is also at odds with the local Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, making it difficultfor profit distribution in the SEZ.
Finally, conflict-hit north Myanmar is still hindering major projects between the two countries and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor remains in the pipeline.
For Suu Kyi and her party, ruling the country is not easy. Faced with a cascade of challenges ahead, the new government would better relieve its domestic pressures by expanding diplomatic ties and consolidating its power through external resources. Cooperating with its large neighbor would be a diplomatic priority.
Song Qingrun is an associate professor at the Institute of South and Southeast Asian Studies, the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR).
The article was translated by Guo Yiming based on the first two parts of the original unabridged version published in Chinese.
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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