The Political Economy of China-Myanmar Bilateral Relations Under the framework of Belt and Road Initiative

Kyaw Htet Aung

Abstract


After the political transition of Myanmar in 2011, China’s engagement strategy toward Myanmar has led the changes from the state-to-state relations into the multi-layered relations. At the same time, Myanmar’s foreign policy has also challenged Beijing’s economic and political interests in Myanmar in terms of the Myit-Sone Dam suspension by Myanmar’s first reform government. Later, the Aung San Suu Kyi’s government looks more closely with the PRC under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. In this sense, it could be interesting to find Myanmar’s policy on China’s engagement and China’s responses to Myanmar’s development. Moreover, Myanmar has agreed to the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) which is a strategically important economic corridor under the umbrella of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Among various China’s BRI projects in Myanmar, every case has a different characteristic, pattern, and situation, in terms of the different fundamental interaction relations among the state, market, and society. It means that China’s interest in Myanmar is a complicated and complex situation during Myanmar’s new political order. In this sense, the China-Myanmar bilateral relations have the multidimensional factors and it was shaped by the diverse state-holders’ interaction. Therefore, this paper will seek the China-Myanmar bilateral relations from the political economy perspective. At last, this paper will argue that the changing relations among state-market-society in Myanmar will play a crucial role in China-Myanmar bilateral relations by using the two-level game theory. 

Keywords


Myanmar; China; Belt and Road Initiative; State-Market-Society Analysis

Full Text:

PDF

References


AIIB. (2015,). Members and Prospective Members of the Bank. Retrieved from Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB): https://www.aiib.org/en/aboutaiib/governance/members-ofbank/index.html

Auerbach, A. J., Chetty, R., Feldstein, M., & Saez, E. (Eds.). (2013). Handbook of public economics (Vol. 5). Newnes.

Bayne, N., & Woolcock, S. (Eds.). (2011). The new economic diplomacy: decision-making and negotiation in international economic relations. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

Bayne, N., & Woolcock, S. (Eds.). (2011). The new economic diplomacy: decision-making and negotiation in international economic relations. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

Bozio, A., & Disney, R. (2011). Public sector pays and pensions. The IFS Green Budget, 163-191.

Chenyang, L., & Shaojun, S. (2018). “China’s OBOR Initiative and Myanmar’s Political Economy.” The Chinese Economy, 51(4), 318-332.

da Conceição-Heldt, E., & Mello, P. A. (2017). “Two-level games in foreign policy analysis.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics, 1-33

Dagnino, E. (2016). “State-society relations and the dilemmas of the new Developmentalist State”, IDS Bulletin Transforming Development Knowledge, 47 (2A), 157-191

Ferenčak, I., Crnković, B., & Rudan, S. (2014). “State and market.” Ekonomski vjesnik: Review of Contemporary Entrepreneurship, Business, and Economic Issues, 27(1), 113-126.

Gilpin, R., & Gilpin, J. M. (2001). Global political economy: Understanding the international economic order. Princeton University Press.

Haider, H. (2010). State-society relations and citizenship in situations of conflict and fragility. GSDRC, University of Birmingham.

Hindriks, J., & Myles, G. D. (2013). Intermediate public economics. MIT press.

Jessen, M. H. (2017). Civil Society in the Shadow of the Neoliberal State: On the Depoliticization of Civil Society, 1992-present. www.research.cbs.dk.

Kudo, T. (2002). Industrial development in Myanmar: Prospects and challenges. Institute of Developing Economies Japan External Trade Organization.

Kyee, K. K. (2018). “China's Multi-Layered Engagement Strategy and Myanmar's Reality: The Best Fit for Beijing's Preferences.” ISP Myanmar Working Paper Series, 1(1), 1 -99.

Kyee, K. K. (2018). “Finding Peace along the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor: Between Short-term Interests and Long-lasting Peace.” ISP-Myanmar working paper series, 1(2), 1-37.

Lwin, N. (2018, August 10). China Beating Japan in War for Economic Influence in Myanmar. Retrieved from The Irrawaddy (English Edition): https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/chinabeating-japan-war-economicinfluence-myanmar.html

Lwin, N. (2018, July 13). Govt Approves Sites For 3 New Economic Zones Along China Border. Retrieved from The Irrawaddy: https://www.irrawaddy.com/business/govtapprovessites-3- new-economic-zones-along-china border.html

Lwin, N. (2019, January 24). China's Six Belt and Road Projects in Myanmar to watch in 2019. Retrieved from The Irrawaddy (English Edition): https://www.irrawaddy.com/specials/chinassix-belt-road-projects-myanmar-watch- 2019.html

Lwin, N. (2019, January 25). Info-graphic: 30 Years of Chinese Investment in Myanmar. Retrieved from The Irrawaddy (English Edition): https://www.irrawaddy.com/specials/infographic-30-yearschinese investmentmyanmar.html

Malik, J. M. (2018). “Myanmar’s role in China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative.” Journal of Contemporary China, 27(111), 362-378.

Migdal, J. S. (1988). Strong societies and weak states: state-society relations and state capabilities in the Third World. Princeton University Press.

Ministry of Planning and Finance, M. (2018). Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan. Nay Pyi Taw: Republic of the Union of Myanmar.

Neocleous, M. (1996). Administering civil society: Towards a theory of state power. Springer.

Okano-Heijmans, M. (2011). “Conceptualizing economic diplomacy: The crossroads of international relations, economics, IPE and diplomatic studies.” The Hague journal of diplomacy, 6(1-2), 7-36.

Okano-Heijmans, M. (2011). “Conceptualizing economic diplomacy: The crossroads of international relations, economics, IPE and diplomatic studies.” The Hague journal of diplomacy, 6(1-2), 7-36.

Persson, T., Roland, G., & Tabellini, G. (2000). “Comparative politics and public finance.” Journal of political Economy, 108(6), 1121-1161.

Putnam, R. D. (1988). “Diplomacy and domestic politics: the logic of two-level games.” International organization, 42(3), 427-460.

Schneider, F., & Frey, B. S. (1985). “Economic and political determinants of foreign direct investment.” World development, 13(2), 161-175.

Shee, P. K. (1997). “The political economy of China-Myanmar relations: Strategic and economic dimensions.” Southeast Asia, 19(1), 33-53.

Strange, S. (1994). Wake up, Krasner! The world has changed. Taylor & Francis

Welton, M. (2001). “Civil society and the public sphere: Habermas's recent learning theory.” Studies in the Education of Adults, 33(1), 20-34.

Zhiping, L. (1999). “Market, Society, and the State. Chinese Economy,” 32(4), 41-45.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.18196/jgpp.72125

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2020 Journal of Governance and Public Policy

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

 


Office: 
Master of Government Affairs and Administration (MIP)
Postgraduate Building 2nd Floor UMY

Phone: +62 274 387 656 (ext: 173)

Jl. Brawijaya, Kasihan, Bantul, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, Indonesia

View My Stats

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.