Chinese-backed mining and hydropower projects in Myanmar are causing deforestation, water pollution, and mass displacement. Experts warn that Beijing’s unchecked influence could permanently damage Myanmar’s environment and economic sovereignty.
BY PC Bureau
For travelers exploring Myanmar, a visit to Yangon’s Bogyoke Aung San Market—formerly Scott Market—is a must. The marketplace is famous for its antique stores, traditional jewelry, and boutiques filled with Burmese handicrafts. Among these, jade items stand out as prized possessions. However, behind the glimmering stones lies a more troubling story—one of resource exploitation, environmental destruction, and the deepening influence of Chinese businesses over Myanmar’s natural wealth.
As highlighted in an editorial by Vaishali Basu Sharma in The Irrawaddy, jade merchants in Yangon express growing concerns over the systematic depletion of Myanmar’s resources by Chinese business interests. They allege that Chinese companies, backed by their government, are extracting jade and other natural resources at an unsustainable rate, leaving local communities impoverished and ecosystems ravaged.
Myanmar’s Natural Wealth: A Target for Aggressive Exploitation
Myanmar is rich in jade, timber, oil, gas, and hydropower potential. While these resources have long been coveted by foreign interests, China has emerged as the most dominant player in their extraction. As Myanmar’s largest trading partner and investor, China has injected over $25 billion into the country between 1988 and 2019, focusing on resource-rich industries.
WHATS HAPPENING IN MYANMAR?
China is deploying its private military contractors disguised as ex-military operatives alongside personnel from Burma’s regime in areas critical to Chinese interests since, Tatmadaw is now incapable of securing Chinese assets alone.
5/12 pic.twitter.com/wYjwRnNLTo— Nepal Correspondence (@NepCorres) January 23, 2025
A 2023 report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) exposes the devastating impact of illegal logging in Myanmar, with Chinese companies playing a major role. The northern regions of Kachin and Shan states have suffered extensive deforestation, driven by insatiable demand from China’s furniture and construction industries. Once celebrated for their biodiversity, Myanmar’s forests have now been decimated, with nearly 20% of forest cover lost between 2002 and 2020. Much of the timber is illegally smuggled into China.
Jade Trade: Billions in Profits, but Not for Myanmar
The jade industry, centered in Kachin State, generates billions annually, yet the wealth rarely benefits local communities. A 2015 Global Witness report estimated that Myanmar’s jade trade was worth over $31 billion per year, with Chinese demand driving widespread illegal mining. Chinese buyers and their local partners reap the profits while Myanmar’s workers face dangerous conditions and environmental degradation.
Illegal mining has led to frequent landslides, destroying villages and leaving entire communities displaced. Pollution from mining sites has contaminated rivers, making water undrinkable and land unfarmable. Yet, the demand from China continues to fuel unchecked extraction.
Hydropower Projects: China’s Grip on Myanmar’s Rivers
China’s aggressive push for hydropower projects in Myanmar is another source of deep concern. The Myitsone Dam, a $3.6 billion project backed by Chinese state-owned enterprises, is perhaps the most controversial. Located at the confluence of the Mali and N’Mai rivers in northern Myanmar, the dam threatens to alter the flow of the Irrawaddy River—the cradle of Burmese civilization.
Environmental organizations like International Rivers warn that the Myitsone Dam would displace over 18,000 Kachin ethnic residents, destroy ancestral lands, and disrupt vital fisheries. Though the project was suspended in 2011 due to widespread protests, Beijing has continued pressuring Myanmar’s military government to restart construction.
Illegal Mining and Its Deadly Consequences
Gold and rare-earth mineral mining, particularly in eastern Shan State, has turned vast areas of Myanmar into ecological disaster zones. Mining operations, largely backed by Chinese investors, employ toxic extraction methods that pollute waterways and render agricultural land useless.
A recent study by Thailand’s Department of Natural Resources found that illegal gold mining in eastern Shan State played a role in the devastating mudslides that hit Mae Sai, a Thai border town, in 2024. The study linked mining activities in Mong Hsat—an area controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and junta-backed militias—to dangerous levels of arsenic, nickel, and zinc contamination in the Sai River. One sample showed zinc concentrations 18 times above the recommended safety limit.
Health and Social Fallout from Resource Exploitation
The health consequences for communities living near these extraction sites are severe. Reports from the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) highlight increasing cases of respiratory diseases, skin ailments, and gastrointestinal disorders due to toxic waste from mining operations.
Despite warnings from civil society groups, Myanmar’s government has failed to impose stronger regulations—largely due to China’s economic and political influence over the ruling junta. Chinese corporations continue to operate with impunity, further entrenching Myanmar’s dependence on Beijing.
China’s Strategic Agenda: Economic Control and Debt Dependency
Beyond resource extraction, China has also used infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to expand its influence in Myanmar. Projects like the Kyaukphyu deep-sea port and special economic zones have sparked concerns about Myanmar’s growing debt dependency on China. Critics argue that these projects serve Beijing’s geopolitical ambitions rather than Myanmar’s development needs.
The Kyaukphyu port, in particular, allows China to gain a direct route to the Indian Ocean, bypassing the strategic Malacca Strait. While this enhances China’s global trade strategy, it places Myanmar in a vulnerable position where economic sovereignty is increasingly dictated by Beijing.
The Urgent Need for Transparency and Accountability
As highlighted in The Irrawaddy editorial, Myanmar’s experience serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unregulated foreign investment. China has extracted vast resources while Myanmar’s environment, economy, and sovereignty have suffered the consequences.
To reverse the damage, Myanmar’s government must take urgent steps to:
- Enforce stricter regulations on resource extraction
- Hold Chinese corporations accountable for environmental violations
- Strengthen transparency in infrastructure agreements
- Collaborate with regional partners to resist predatory investment deals
Without these reforms, Myanmar risks further devastation at the hands of China’s relentless pursuit of its natural wealth. While Beijing profits from this exploitation, it is Myanmar’s people who bear the true cost.
