China tells state firms in Myanmar to evacuate non-essential staff

GBNEWS24 DESK//

China has told its state firms to evacuate non-essential staff from Myanmar after dozens of Chinese-run factories were attacked on the weekend amid rising anti-China sentiment, according to sources within the companies.

In a notice seen by the South China Morning Post, the State Council’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac) ordered state-owned enterprises in Myanmar to evacuate staff involved in projects that had come to a halt.

Other staff to be pulled out of the country include those who have reached the end of their rotations, workers who have not yet been inoculated against the coronavirus, employees living on remote sites and those facing serious local situations, according to the notice.

One state construction firm employee working on an infrastructure project in Myanmar confirmed that he had received the instructions from Sasac, which oversees 90 national-level SOEs in China.

“We received it over the weekend when some Chinese-invested factories were attacked,” said the source, who requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

“In fact, almost all projects have already stopped here. We are discussing who shall stay back to watch developments. I think most of us will head home as nothing much can be done.”

In the notice, Sasac also ordered all SOEs in Myanmar to carry out emergency drills, making sure they had enough vehicles, fuel, food and other necessities for an evacuation.

A second state-firm source, who is involved in hydro-power projects, also said he had received the instructions and the firm was already sending “non-essential staff” back to China.

“The colleagues who have been evacuated have reached China safely. Staff here in Myanmar have been told to stay in our compound, except to buy food and water,” he said.

“All the banks are closed, we have to find cash to buy supplies.