China-Myanmar economic, trade cooperation makes new progress

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YANGON, Dec 9 (Xinhua): The bilateral economic and trade cooperative ties between China and Myanmar has made new progress in 2007 with an incomplete Myanmar official statistics showing that China was at least able to become Myanmar's second largest trading partner and the 6th in its foreign investment line-up.
Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar Tang Hai told the news agency that China and Myanmar are linked by mountains and rivers with the two countries' peoples enjoying a deep paukphaw (fraternal) friendship.
In recent years, under joint efforts, the neighbourly and friendly cooperative ties between China and Myanmar continued to develop and new progress has also been made in the two countries' economic and trade cooperation.
According to Tang Hai, China-Myanmar bilateral trade scored greater achievement in 2007 based on relatively fast growth of its volume. In the merely first three quarters of the year, the bilateral trade volume hit 1.435 billion US dollars, increasing by 37.7 per cent correspondingly. Of the total, China's export to Myanmar stood 1.216 billion dollars, up 45.8 per cent, while its import from Myanmar took 220 million dollars, up 5.2 per cent compared with the same period.
He noted that China's exports to Myanmar are based primarily on value-added products which are mainly textile, steel and oil refined products, while its imports from Myanmar are led by primary products such as raw wood, sawn timber, natural rubber and cane products.
Citing Myanmar official figures, Tang said from 1992 to the end of October 2007, approved contracted Chinese investment in the country amounted to 638 million dollars in 30 projects, adding that the sectors in which Chinese investment was made are mainly hydropower, oil and gas, manufacturing and mining.
Tang emphasised that there are five key aspects in the sectors of economic and trade cooperation which are outlined as comprehensive agricultural development, natural resources exploitation, infrastructural construction, value-added assembling and human resources cooperation.