Myanmar ended the year having exported a total of 10.8 million tons of crude oil to China, a rise of 6.3 percent from 2018, highlighting the deepening economic relationship between the two countries during the development of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor.

Official data reported by China Internet Information Center shows that around USD 5.5 billion of oil flowed through the China-Myanmar Oil and Gas Pipeline, which was first put into use in 2013. Natural gas exports to China increased by 54 percent from 2018, valuing almost USD 1.8 billion.

As Myanmar exports oil and gas, it is also investing in fuel of its own. Also in 2019, the Ministry of Electricity and Energy issued five emergency tenders for liquid natural gas supply and power generation in bid to increase Myanmar’s generating capacity by 900 megawatts before the 2020 hot season. Four of these contracts were awarded to Hong Kong-listed VPower Group.

These oil and gas deals are merely part of a deepening of Myanmar and Chinese economic relationship centered around the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor. The long-in-development project seeks to establish new trade infrastructure in the form of highways, railways, river ports and special industrial zones in Myanmar’s north.