Was Myanmar mentioned at the Trump-Xi summit?

James Shwe

So far, there is no public sign that Myanmar was directly discussed at the recent summit of U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Official and media summaries point to trade, Taiwan, Iran, AI, rare earths, fentanyl, and regional stability, but not Myanmar or Burma. Check sources such as the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar, CFR, and Mizzima.

But Myanmar should not be invisible.

If Washington and Beijing discuss cyber scams, human trafficking, and transnational organized crime, Myanmar must be part of that conversation. The U.S. Treasury has already identified Burma, Cambodia, and Laos as key centers of scam operations targeting Americans, including compounds in Karen State linked to armed groups, human trafficking, and China-based criminal networks (U.S. Treasury).

The danger is that Myanmar will be treated only as a crime problem, not as a political crisis. Scam centers, trafficking, and lawlessness are symptoms of the deeper disease: military rule, collapsed governance, and impunity.

Any serious U.S.-China discussion on regional stability must include pressure on the Myanmar junta and its allied armed groups. Otherwise, the criminal networks will simply relocate, rebrand, and continue exploiting both the Myanmar people and victims around the world.