Myanmar's Transition: Openings, Obstacles and Opportunities

6. The Burmese Jade Trail: Transnational Networks, China and the (Relative) Impact of International Sanctions on Myanmar’s Gems

6 THE BURMESE JADE TRAIL Transnational Networks, China, and the (Relative) Impact of International Sanctions on Myanmar’s Gems Renaud Egreteau Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, as the song goes. So is Burmese jade for a Chinese, or for any gem and jade dealer settled along the ChinaMyanmar borders. Hard numbers are difficult to come by, but it is thought that today thousands of Myanmar-origin jadestones worth several million U.S. dollars are traded every year in China, most particularly in the border province of Yunnan. Myanmar has long been prized for its precious gemstones, but its own gem and jade industry has rather stagnated since independence in 1948. Over the past decade, however, it has witnessed extraordinary growth, mostly driven by extravagant Chinese demand. With rising Sino-Myanmar economic interaction in the decade from the year 2000, the construction of modern infrastructure in the borderlands of Yunnan, and the increased purchasing power of jade-crazed Chinese diaspora societies, all the signs are that the Burmese jade trade is roaring ahead. Yet Western countries have been calling for tougher economic sanctions on the Myanmar gemstone market. After the international outcry 90 Renaud Egreteau that followed the “Saffron Revolution”, European Union (EU) and United States policy-makers determined on imposing “smarter” sanctions to target the profits that military-ruled Myanmar could scoop up from this thriving industry. Brussels subsequently, in November 2007, revised the EU Common Position to include a section on mining, timber, and gems, and in July 2008 Washington adopted the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta’s Anti-Democratic Effort) Act. These moves have had little success, however, as the Burmese jade trade has continued to boom. At the root of the ineffectiveness of Western sanctions on that particular industry is a simple miscalculation: China is too big a player in the jade industry to leave outside the scope of such sanctions; moreover, cross-border trade in and around Myanmar has become increasingly viable and profitable in recent years.1 This chapter intends to explore and evaluate the impact Western “targeted sanctions” have had on the Myanmar gem industry. The research on which it is based is drawn primarily from a broader project the author has been conducting since 2010 on Burmese Muslim jade traders settled in Yunnan — mostly in the major market town of Ruili (Shweli in Burmese) (see Figure 6.1).2 After a brief overview of the patterns and configuration of Burma’s gem and jade industry and trans-border trade, and a description of the scope and instruments of international sanctions that target Myanmar gems, this paper will debate the (ir)relevance of the latter in the local context of the Sino-Yunnanese borderlands. It will argue that extensive trans-national networks of Myanmar and Chinese gem dealers, the critical impulse given by jade-hungry Chinese consumers, and the structure of Burma’s gem and jade production and trade, will continue to favor extraordinary growth in this sector in coming years. The author argues, therefore, that if the aim of the international community is to better monitor the Myanmar gem markets, but without either killing off a thriving local industry or leaving it to the will and whim of Chinese businessmen and consumers and the oligarchy-controlled Myanmar economy, then the international community must review its global approach. THE MyANMAR GEMSToNE TRAIL “And the old Chinese broker cried: ‘pigeon’s blood’.” (Kessel 1961, p. 81) Myanmar has long been renowned for its natural gemstones. Burmese “pigeon’s blood” rubies and sapphires, but also its amber and jade, have The Burmese Jade Trail 91 FIGURE 6.1 Map of the Burma-yunnan Border Areas Source: Author’s map. 500 Km State Capital Major Cities and Cross-border Towns Major gems & jade mining site International Boundaries 4 6 5 2 1 3 Mong Hsu Legend: Naypyidaw Kunming Dali Baoshan Tengchong Mangshi Nansan Cangyuan Jinghong (YUNNAN) (SICHUAN) VIETNAM LAOS THAILAND Taunggyi Tachileik Kengtung MongLa Daluo Mong Hsu Pangshan Lashio Mogok Maymyo INDIA Bay of Bengal Damenglong Sittwe Teknaf Mandalay Tamu Moreh Katha Bhamo Myitkyina Hpakant Ruili Muse Namkham Rangoon Ledo Paungsaw Burma’s States and Regions (formerly Divisions) of Burma 1. Kachin State 2. Sagaing Region 3. Chin State 4. Arakan (Rakhine) State 5. Shan State 6. Mandalay Region 92 Renaud Egreteau been prized for centuries, especially in Chinese societies. Archival and archaeological research found that during the Mongol, Ming, and Qing dynasties...