an excerpt from https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3046694/chinese-president-xi-jinping-wraps-myanmar-visit-stringNeither side has released details about the latest agreement, but in his meeting with Suu Kyi on Saturday morning, Xi said that the construction of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor was the “priority among priorities” for the Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure drive that has become a cornerstone of Beijing’s foreign policy.
The project is also likely to involve road and railway-building schemes and tie in with the 793km (493-mile) oil and gas pipeline that began supplying China in 2013.
Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the institute of international relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said a deep-sea port in Kyaukphyu could open new trade and energy routes to the Indian Ocean that avoid the Malacca Strait and South China Sea, where Beijing’s extensive claims are facing a growing challenge from the US and Southeast Asian countries.
“With the Kyaukphyu port, China could be directly linked to the Indian Ocean through roads and railways via the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, which means the US-led Indo-Pacific [Strategy] could be put aside,” Hu said.
Hu continued that the agreement could be seen as a significant step forward for the Belt and Road Initiative.
