The third Myanmar-China Think Tank Forum kicked off on May 22 in Yangon,Myanmar, featuring about 40 experts from both countries.

Focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and Myanmar-China Economic Corridor, discussions and views were exchanged under four topics: “Economic Cooperation and Border Trade,” “People-to-people Connectivity,” “Socio-Economic Development” and “Cross-border Ethnic Communities.”

Nyunt Maung Shein, chairman of the Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies (Myanmar-ISIS), stressed the need to conduct deeper discussions regarding challenges and opportunities in implementation of projects under the Memorandum of Understanding to establish the China-Myanmar economic corridor.The forum was jointly organized by Myanmar-ISIS, China’s Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Chinese Academy of South and Southeast Asian Studies(Kunming) and Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in China’s Yunnan Province.

Li Xiaoyan, counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar, expressed belief that the think tank forum would bring mutual understanding between the two countries’ experts on the future potential of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The first and second of this forum were both held in Mangshi, capital of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, in 2017 and 2018.