[Subscription needed]

"Chinese ventures crop up in northern Shan State town under Kokang administration" Myanmar now, 29 May 2025

Since its capture by an ethnically Kokang armed group in 2023, the town of Hseni (Hsenwi), northern Shan State has drawn large numbers of Chinese business people, reportedly encouraged further by a recent, Chinese government-brokered ceasefire.

[...] the city has been under the control of the Kokang Army—also known by its official name, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)—since late October 2023.

According to one Hseni resident, Chinese entrepreneurs have been leasing homes, shops, farmland, and properties abandoned by civilians [...].

Many Chinese business people have also opened general stores, dry goods shops, pharmacies, and restaurants in busy areas.

With more than 40,000 acres of arable land, Hseni is commonly called northern Shan State’s “rice bowl.”

Chinese nationals have reportedly been growing crops like bananas, sugarcane, and watermelons on the farmlands they have rented. Although the landowners are benefiting from rental income, the practice has raised concerns about soil degradation.

“People are afraid to speak up. When the market protest occurred, the woman who led it was arrested and taken to Laukkai,” he said. “Now, Chinese nationals are coming in, renting homes, land, and even farmland. Although authorities claim that selling property is not allowed in the town, they are doing it themselves. And no one dares to raise their voice.”

Myanmar Now contacted spokespersons for the MNDAA on Wednesday to request comment on the involvement of Chinese nationals in rent and land transactions in Hseni, but received no response by publication time.