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According to information and documentation released by UK-based Global Witness which studies natural resource extraction-related conflict, 95 per cent of the timber is illegally extracted and traded, contravening laws in both countries.

Chinese loggers have cut deep into northern Myanmar, in collusion with local Kachin rebel groups now at cease fire with Yangon, as well as the junta's local commanders and the military regime in Yangon itself, says Global Witness.

The report said logging in the area in question - Kachin state - ''is complex, opaque, and rarely in the hands of a single group.''

''Although the ceasefire groups are the main brokers of natural resources under their control, they are to a certain extent acting as proxies to the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC, the regime in Yangon).

''Indeed most of the Kachin state is in the hands of the SPDC'' notes the report.

''It is a muddy picture in which everybody takes what they can get'' said Susan Kempel, a researcher for Global Witness, in Bangkok on Tuesday while releasing the group's report titled ''A choice for China: ending the destruction of Burma's northern frontier forests.''

Aware that they are in a conflict zone with an uncertain future, loggers cut down forests as fast as they can with no interest in sustainable forest use, the report says.

''It's a trade that is completely out of control'' Ms Kempel said.

''On average, one truck, carrying about 15 tons of timber, logged illegally in Burma, crosses an official Chinese checkpoint every seven minutes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; yet they do nothing'' Global Witness's Jon Buckrell said.

The forests that are being plundered, ranging from temperate to subtropical, are among the richest on the planet and give rise to Myanmar's lifeline, the Irrawaddy river.

Stories are increasingly coming out of the remote area, of the adverse effects on people of the logging - ranging from floods and disappearing forests and wildlife, to increased prostitution catering to the loggers.

Global Witness's report is the result of four years of work. According to what they documented, Myanmar allows 18,000 cubic metres of timber to be exported every year.

But according to China's statistics, one million cubic metres is imported from Myanmar every year.

''The gap between the two figures is the illegal timber'' Ms Kempel said.

''This is out in the open. It is easy to see and it is taxed by Chinese authorities all along the border'' she said.

''Our message is China should close down this border for the timber trade until it can be sure the timber imported is legal.''

She said Global Witness had had some discussions with Chinese officials and there appeared to be some interest in cracking down on the trade, but it was not being translated into action.

China in 2001 made international commitments to make efforts to stop forest crimes such as illegal logging. But the country has a voracious appetite for wood to support domestic demand as well as an export industry that in 2003 sold USD 3 billion worth of wood products to the USA.

Part of the reason why Chinese logging companies have moved into Burma is due to Beijing's 1998 ban on logging in five provinces, which was later expanded to 18 provinces covering two-thirds of China, enacted to address flooding and soil erosion problems.

In fact, some of the 20,000 Chinese loggers working in Burma's forests today originally lost their jobs after the 1998 logging ban.

London-based Global Witness is asking the Chinese central government to close the border for the timber trade until it can be ensured that the timber that is being imported into China is of legal origin.