China and Myanmar pledge to fight online scams as Beijing seeks stronger ties with junta

Diplomats of the two countries gather for first time in years to discuss border stability and internet fraud
Beijing quietly steps up engagement with military rulers in troubled Southeast Asian neighbour, which hosts hundreds of Chinese investment projects

China-Asean relations

Laura Zhou

Published: 9:00am, 31 Aug 2023

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China and Myanmar have pledged to step up the fight against online scams as Beijing pushes for closer ties with the ruling military junta in the troubled Southeast Asian country.

For the first time in almost four years, diplomats of the two countries gathered on Monday and Tuesday in Beijing, where they “had a frank and in-depth exchange of views” on how to maintain a stable border and safeguard peace in frontier areas, according to a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry.

They also “reached important consensus on improving the meeting mechanism, facilitating people-to-people exchanges, and cooperation in combating cross-border internet fraud”.

Myanmar police hand over five telecoms and internet fraud suspects to Chinese police in Yangon, Myanmar on Saturday. Photo: Chinese embassy in Myanmar/Handout via Xinhua

Officials from national defence, commerce and immigration authorities as well as local governments also joined the meeting.

According to the readout, the two sides agreed to step up communication and information-sharing to improve cooperation on border affairs.

The two-day meeting was part of a bilateral mechanism under which officials of both sides have met annually since the early 2000s. However, no meeting was held in the previous three years, even via video link.

The latest meeting was held as Beijing steps up its crackdown on cross-border telecoms fraud, which has triggered nationwide outrage since reports surfaced that Chinese citizens, lured by high pay, had been smuggled into Myanmar and forced to participate in online scams.

Over the past week, at least 24 suspects were repatriated from Myanmar to China as part of the crackdown, which Beijing’s embassy in the country said had “underscored the firm stance of China and Myanmar in combating fraud”.

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Last month, China sent special envoy on Asian affairs Deng Xijun to Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s purpose-built capital. There he met Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power in a coup in February 2021, as well as key officials of the military government, including Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Than Swe and Minister of International Cooperation Ko Ko Hlaing.

According to Min Aung Hlaing’s office, during the July 28 meeting the two sides “had a frank exchange of views” on cooperation, Chinese aid, Myanmar’s political situation, the country’s development and the stability of border areas.

Deng’s visit showed Beijing is quietly stepping up its engagement with the junta in Myanmar, a neighbour with which it shares over 2,200km (1,367 miles) of border. The country also hosts hundreds of Chinese investment projects, including pipelines that transport natural gas and crude oil from Myanmar’s deep water port of Kyaukphyu in the Bay of Bengal with the city of Kunming in southwest China.

The 2021 coup triggered widespread and prolonged violence and drew sanctions from the US and its allies.

China did not condemn or endorse the military regime but has pledged to work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), of which Myanmar is a member, for peace talks.

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However, Beijing appears to have adjusted its strategy.

Deng, who until November was China’s ambassador to Asean, had separate meetings with representatives of seven of Myanmar’s ethnic armed organisations in Yunnan in late December before flying to Naypyidaw, where he met Min Aung Hlaing.

Deng visited again in February and met representatives of the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), an insurgent group in eastern Shan state.

In May, Qin Gang, China’s foreign minister at the time, visited Naypyidaw in the first official visit by a high-ranking Beijing official since the coup.

However, Beijing’s increasing engagement with the diplomatically isolated junta is unlikely to achieve a political solution or an end to the violence in the country, according to Morgan Michaels, a research fellow in Southeast Asian politics and foreign policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a think tank headquartered in London.

Instead, China’s growing involvement may be largely driven by “a need to ensure stability in the border area in order to safeguard their interests or kick-start stalled investment projects”, Michaels wrote in a report earlier this month.