China’s importance, influence and relevance as a development actor in Asia is on the rise. While the EU and EU member states have long played a strong role in shaping trade and development cooperation in Asia, China’s recent engagement can hardly be underestimated. While the EU’s intention in international cooperation is to promote sustainable development, participatory and equitable trade, and peace and security, China’s primary intentions are hidden and linked to meet political and economic ends. This paper therefore explores China’s means of cooperation, and what they may reveal about genuine intentions in two ‘String of Pearls’ countries, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. This research further aims at exploring the extent to which it is advantageous for the two countries to involve a regional power, such as China as a predominant development actor. The comparison also begs the question, whether supra-national development cooperation is more effective and sustainable than bi-lateral cooperation. The analysis of the two cases illustrates China’s economic engagement in Asia as chiefly self-interested activities motivated by economic and strategic considerations.
