China’s rare earth imports swelled by Myanmar supply
China’s rare earth imports surged to 5,021 tons in September, up 23 percent from August, according to data from the Shanghai Metals Market.
Shipments of rare earth oxides from Myanmar accounted for 70 percent of the total, while arrivals from Laos fell to 1,369 tons. Together, Myanmar and Laos accounted for 97 percent of total imports. Cumulative imports for January–September reached 46,466 tons, up 14 percent year‑on‑year.
Rare earth mines along Myanmar’s northeastern border with China supply roughly half the world’s heavy rare earths, including strategically scarce dysprosium and terbium used in magnets crucial to China’s high-tech supply chain.
The surge comes as the US reengages with Myanmar’s regime, fueling speculation that global competition for rare earth resources is driving Washington’s policy recalibration. However, almost all of Myanmar’s rare earth mines are located in territory beyond regime control.
Myanmar specialty coffee faces Chinese fire sale
A Chinese fire sale beckons for Myanmar’s once-booming specialty coffee market. Once backed by USAID and American buyers, the coffee industry collapsed after the 2021 coup as Shan farmers responsible for some of the world’s finest beans were deprived of access to Western markets, transparent trade and certification. With the lucrative export path blocked, the regime and its Myanmar Coffee Association (MCA) are now aggressively pivoting to China.
MCA chairman Myo Aye told Xinhua that cooperation with Yunnan has deepened since the military takeover, with new MoUs locking in China as the top destination for Myanmar’s 3,000–4,000 tonnes of annual exports—tumbling from pre-coup levels of more than 5,000 tonnes. He said the association is looking to attract Chinese investment in value-added processing facilities, roasting plants and supply-chain logistics.
Myanmar’s coffee basket of Shan State has been ravaged by some of the fiercest fighting triggered by the 2021 coup.
Agriculture supplants industry at Myanmar-China forum
The Seventh Myanmar–China Think Tank Forum kicked off in Mangshi, Yunnan Province on Wednesday, with agricultural cooperation placed firmly at the center of discussions. Launched in 2017, the annual forum takes a different theme each year, but its underlying focus has consistently been the now stalled China–Myanmar Economic Corridor, a project designed to give Beijing direct access to the Indian Ocean.
This year’s session saw Myanmar regime officials highlight opportunities in rice and coffee. Yunnan is a major buyer of both. They urged deeper cooperation to expand exports, boost trade and investment, develop value‑added products, and facilitate technology exchange.
The forum comes as regime leader Min Aung Hlaing promotes agriculture as the key sector to revive an economy devastated by his coup and international sanctions. He has emphasized rice, cotton, oilseed crops, pulses, and rubber as priority industries to drive growth.
Earlier this month, Myanmar’s Pawsan variety won global recognition at the World Rice Conference 2026. At the 23rd China–ASEAN Expo in Nanning last month, three Myanmar rice exporters signed five MoUs with Chinese companies. According to the Myanmar Rice Federation, Myanmar earned US$ 338 million from rice exports in the first half of FY2026–27, which began in April.
Travel alert over Myanmar scams sparks Thai pushback
The Chinese Embassy in Bangkok issued a safety advisory on Oct. 16 warning its citizens of trafficking risks linked to scam compounds along the Thai–Myanmar border, prompting a scrambled response from Thailand’s foreign and tourism ministers.
The advisory cautioned Chinese nationals to be on alert for kidnapping and trafficking schemes disguised as high‑paying job offers, fraudulent investment projects, and bogus filming contracts targeting livestreamers and entertainers. It urged travelers to verify overseas employment opportunities, avoid suspicious transport arrangements, and steer clear of high‑risk areas on the Thai-Myanmar frontier where criminal networks remain active despite official crackdowns.
The warning followed recent cases that rattled public opinion in China, including the abduction of a shopping livestreamer who was lured by a bogus contract to Thailand before being trafficked to Myanmar last month. The high‑profile kidnapping of soap actor Wang Xing in Myawaddy in 2025 had already triggered a trilateral crackdown by China, Thailand, and Myanmar.
Following the latest advisory, a Chinese actress cancelled a fan meeting in Bangkok, underscoring the potential impact on Thailand’s tourism sector.
Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow responded by urging the embassy to ensure its warnings are proportionate to the situation and avoid sparking unnecessary alarm. He stressed that Thailand takes visitor safety seriously and will investigate incidents, but cautioned that exaggerated advisories risk undermining confidence in Thailand as a safe destination. Chinese nationals are Thailand’s largest tourism market.
Naypyitaw eyes tourism lifeline in Kunming
Even as reports of trafficking and scam compounds along the Thai–Myanmar border dominate headlines in China, Myanmar’s regime is pressing ahead with plans to lure Chinese visitors back to Myanmar to revive a tourism industry shattered by the 2021 coup.
The regime’s Hotels and Tourism Ministry has announced it will open a tourism promotion office in Kunming, Yunnan Province. At the China–Myanmar cultural tourism exchange meeting held in Kunming from October 13–17, Tourism Ministry Secretary Maung Maung Kyaw described the proposed office as a potential “major corridor” for public‑private cooperation between the regime and Chinese tour companies. A business‑to‑business memorandum of understanding was also signed between Chinese and Myanmar tour operators.
Chinese travelers remain Myanmar’s largest foreign tourism market, but numbers have collapsed since the coup. Just over 250,000 Chinese arrivals were recorded last year—a fraction of the pre‑coup boom—despite having access to visas on arrival. In 2019, Myanmar saw 749,719 Chinese arrivals out of a total 4.4 million tourists.
Compiled by Thurein Lynn