An international mining industry trade centre was established late last week in Kunming, capital city of southwest China’s Yunnan province, the Xinhua news agency reported. Zhang Yaowu, head of the provincial land resources administration, said the move would promote co-operation in mining sectors between the border province and adjacent south eastern and southern Asian nations, including Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. But details about how the trade centre will be operated, have not been decided.
According to a research report produced by Kunming University of Science and Technology, Yunnan and southern and south eastern Asian nations are complementary in mineral resources. Iron, zinc, phosphorus and tin resources in Yunnan are needed by its south eastern neighbours, while their petroleum, natural gas, gems, salt and some non-ferrous metals resources are demanded by the Chinese province. Construction of a controversial oil pipeline from Myanmar to China is expected to start shortly.
The three neighbouring SE Asian countries collectively accounted for 52% of China’s total imports of 7,154 tonnes (gross weight) of tin concentrates in 2008.
