While China’s diplomatic role in Ukraine is the subject of discussions, its foreign minister, Qin Gang, met with Myanmar's junta leader, General Min Aung Hlaing. China backs the military regime but also several rebel groups on the border to protect the border region where rare earths are mined.
Yangon (AsiaNews) – Since China and India have close political and economic ties with Russia, their decision more than a week ago to vote in favour of a United Nations resolution recognising "the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine” could be construed as a shift in their position with China possibly mediating in the conflict.
However, to understand how Chinese diplomacy operates, it would perhaps be more useful to look at another, often overlooked conflict, in which China plays a leading role, Myanmar’s civil war.
On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang landed in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw where he met with General Min Aung Hlaing, head of the country’s ruling military junta. The latter ousted the government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on 1 February 2021, sparking a brutal civil war.
Minister Qin is the highest-ranking Chinese official to meet with the junta leader.
In a statement yesterday, he is quoted as saying that "China supports Myanmar in exploring a development path with Myanmar characteristics that suits to its national conditions” as well as in "advancing its political transition process and backs relevant parties ... to properly address differences and seek national reconciliation under the constitutional and legal framework”.
Since Myanmar’s military and resistance forces began fighting, Beijing has supplied weapons to both the military junta and some rebel militias operating on the border between China and Myanmar.
Last March, an alliance of several militias asked China to defuse the situation on the border. In December China's special envoy to Myanmar, Deng Xijun, met with General Min Aung Hlaing and ethnic rebel leaders in northern Myanmar, where Beijing's influence is more likely to pay dividends.
Since last December, several officials from China’s Yunnan province have visited rebel leaders while Qin Gang himself went to the border recently, where he asked the local Communist Party and police to strengthen the “border defence system”. He also said that it is necessary to maintain “distinct and stable borders, and [conduct] a severe crackdown on cross-border criminal activities.”
In short, China is not so much interested in resolving the conflict than in protecting its economic interests and stabilising the cross-border region -where it exploits rare earth deposits, causing huge environmental damage.
Just late last month, Chinese mining companies were forced to suspend work following protests by the local population.
The statement issued yesterday by the Chinese Foreign Ministry goes on to say that China will accelerate investments related to the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), which is of fundamental strategic importance because it would guarantee Yunnan an outlet to the Indian Ocean.
The CMEC was originally part of the Belt and Road Initiative, the mega infrastructure project launched by Beijing in 2013 to reach many foreign markets faster.
Despite some slowdowns due to the civil war – which has so far displaced more than 1.5 million people – some Chinese projects are still underway.
For instance, China's state-owned CITIC contracted Myanmar Survey Research to undertake an environmental impact assessment of its Kyaukpyu deep-sea port project, Rakhine State.
During their meeting, Myanmar’s strongman and China's foreign minister also discussed boosting cross-border trade and energy cooperation, Myanmar broadcaster MRTV reported.