China's policy towards Myanmar: Yunnan’s commitment to Sino-Myanmar oil and gas pipelines and Border Economic Cooperation Zone

ABSTRACT This paper examines how China has conducted its diplomacy with Myanmar through the efforts of the Chinese central government and the local government of Yunnan Province, which borders Myanmar. China has defined Myanmar as a country of strategic importance in the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and is deepening its economic cooperation with Myanmar. China’s most important project in Myanmar is the oil and gas pipelines from ports in Myanmar to Yunnan Province. The construction of the energy pipelines was drafted and proposed by Yunnan Province and was submitted to the State Council. Due to the strong support of the state-owned enterprise, the proposal was adopted as a national project within two years since its proposal. In addition, Yunnan continued to propose to the central government for the construction of a Border Economic Cooperation Zone. The government of Dehong State in Yunnan proposed the plan to the Yunnan local government. Then, Yunnan continuously proposed it to the State Council. Yunnan could not get the strong support of Chinese major state-owned enterprises and the Myanmar government. It took nearly two decades for the proposal to be approved as one of the national projects by Beijing. In China, local governments can be involved in foreign economic relations within their capacity and responsibility for local socio-economic development. In the context of Beijing’s emphasis on strengthening relations with Southeast Asian countries, there are fair chances that Chinese local government proposals will be directly incorporated into the central government’s strategy.