The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has approved a Sino-Burma oil pipeline linking Burma's deep-water port of Sittwe with Kunming, capital city of China's southwestern Yunnan province.

The NDRC gave the greenlight to the pipeline at the beginning of April, with construction expected to begin this year. No timetable for the completion of the pipeline was provided.

The long-expected pipeline would provide an alternative route for China's crude imports from the Middle East and Africa and help reduce its dependance on traffic through the Strait of Malacca.

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