China’s Fraying Ties to Myanmar’s Tin Hub Threaten Key Supply
- Region is one of the largest tin mining bases in the world
- Beijing is cracking down on cyber-scams despite ties to Wa
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Ties between China and a powerful Myanmar armed group that controls a key source of tin are fraying, threatening to prolong what have already been months of supply disruption for the key metal.
China has long had a warm relationship with the group that rules the self-proclaimed Wa state in the country’s north, an inaccessible corner known as a hub for illegal narcotics trade — but links have been tested by the Wa decision earlier this year to suspend mining, cutting off nearly a third of China’s total tin ore supply.