ABSTRACT
Within the context of the economic diplomacy between ASEAN and China, examining Myanmar’s changing relationship with China is important as the two countries are long-standing trade and investment partners, while Myanmar is an important partner in ASEAN. Myanmar is an important country for China, as the latter is resource-seeking. China is also seeking access to the Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean so that it can bypass the busy sea route of the Straits of Malacca and South China Sea. Myanmar is therefore an important part of the China’s road and belt policy. Myanmar views China as an important source of capital, investment and trade. China provided the much needed investment to Myanmar during the years of economic sanctions by the western powers. However, political reforms in Myanmar has led to the withdrawal of much of the economic sanctions and increasing changes in the domestic economy. Myanmar’s new approach toward trade and investment is beginning to draw new trade and investment partners from other parts of the world, including directly from the West or from third country ties with the West, and it is starting to distance itself from China’s interests. Western powers see Myanmar as an important buffer in Southeast Asia to check China’s political and economic expansion into the Indian Ocean region.
