Chinese official visits Myanmar to discuss trade, phone scams

China’s vice foreign minister Sun Weidong visited Myanmar to meet with military leader Min Aung Hlaing about clamping down on telecommunication scams and promoting trade, according to a statement by China’s Foreign Ministry.

The two countries agreed to work together to clamp down on cross-border telecom scams and strengthen border security, as well as continue Belt and Road Initiative projects that will benefit the two economies, according to the statement about the Thursday-to-Saturday visit. 

Chinese nationals have been using Myanmar, embroiled in civil war since 2021, as a base to conduct phone scam operations that have duped victims out of billions of dollars. Many of those who have fallen prey to the schemes are based in China, which has been trying to crack down on the crimes by working with countries including Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines.

Also, Myanmar’s civil war has strayed into China from time to time, with Beijing renewing a call for ceasefire on Thursday after artillery from a clash hit the border town of Nansan in China’s southern province of Yunnan, injuring five people.