Survey Indicates Ambivalence About Growing Chinese Influence in Myanmar

Yesterday, a Myanmar-based think-tank released a survey report examining elite attitudes toward China and the current state of Sino-Myanmar relations. The survey, which was released in English translation yesterday, found that a majority of survey participants expressed a negative view of China as a neighbor, which is only to be expected given China's proximity to Myanmar, and its predominant economic role in the country. When asked about their most pressing concerns posed by China, 39 percent said its economic dominance, followed by its geopolitical influence and China's interference in the country's internal conflicts. China's status as Myanmar's largest trading partner was a concern for more than half of respondents, while 26 percent responded that this was a welcome development, presumably because of the economic benefits that Myanmar could derive from the relationship. The survey results evinced a sense that Myanmar's economic engagement with Beijing - especially in terms of large-scale China-backed infrastructure projects - benefited China overwhelmingly. The ISP-Myanmar survey results seem to suggest that negative elite sentiment toward China is elastic compared to nations like Vietnam, where anti-Chinese sentiment is conjoined closely to dominant notions of national identity, and that proper management on the part of Beijing could ameliorate these concerns. Whether China has the desire and ability to incorporate local perceptions into its policy toward Myanmar remains very much in doubt, if history is any guide.