China is Playing Peacemaker in Myanmar, but with an Ulterior Motive

Apr 18, 2017 | Doug Bock Clark and Corey Pattison
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In early March, Myanmar’s government sat down with a coalition of ethnic rebel groups, including the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), trying to jump-start peace negotiations that had sputtered out after months of escalating fighting. The meeting had been brokered by China, keen to quell the conflict along its southwestern border. 

During the past few decades, China has extracted massive quantities of timber, gold, jade, and other resources from Kachin State — much of it illegally. Peace could usher in a chance for China not only to have better access to Myanmar’s markets, but even more significantly a better land route between two of the world’s most important economies.