Publication

This paper examines China’s role and interests in Myanmar’s internal peace process. It concludes that 1) Chinese involvement is largely driven by armed ethnic groups in Myanmar who have ties to like-minded organizations across the border in China; 2) Beijing’s official policy of not interfering in the internal affairs of other countries has been ‘ambiguous’ in the case of its neighbor; 3) Chinese officials aren’t convinced that a comprehensive peace will be reached soon and that the best policy is to maintain their options; 4) China’s role in the peace process is complicated by the behavior of Chinese groups that are directly supporting armed organizations in Myanmar; and 5) while Beijing has played a positive role in persuading these groups to join the peace process, its future policy could change.