Opposition to Chinese-invested hydropower programs in Myanmar is being orchestrated by "extreme" groups in the country and has heavily damaged joint investment projects, an influential Chinese newspaper wrote on Monday.

The suspension in 2011 of the $3.6-billion Myitsone megadam project by former president Thein Sein remains a sore point between the two countries.

Myanmar suspended the project citing environmental worries, but the decision was also seen as an attempt to distance itself from Beijing. Uncertainties arising from that controversy have held back other Chinese investment plans.