China, the worlds largest importer of cotton, has been eyeing Myanmar-produced cotton with much greater interest in the wake of its trade war with the US.China has imported cotton from the US for the past 10 years. Last month though, US President Donald Trump imposed $50 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese imports, which includes agriculture. That sparked the ongoing trade war between the two countries, with China retaliating by slapping tariffs on agriculture imports from the US.Despite being able to also import cotton from India as an alternative to the US, China has offered to buy from Myanmar instead because we do not charge import duties on cotton yet.
Myanmar exported around 4,300 tonnes of cotton to China worth $9.5 million in 2016-17 compared to just 1.6 tonnes worth $3.5 million in 2013-14, according to the government.

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