Chinese FM lauds Lancang-Mekong sub-regional cooperation

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Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) not only adds momentum to China-ASEAN cooperation but also makes the regional and state relations better and closer, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday during the Fourth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Luang Prabang.

Wang said that under the joint effort of the six countries, the LMC has been continually upgrading, capacity cooperation has been turned into action and the people's trust and support towards the LMC have also been growing with the cooperation fields have been further expanded.

The six countries have built a system of cooperation and established a foundation with joint efforts, Wang noted.

He added that the LMC has given full play to the advantages of the six countries, such as geographical proximity, culture relatedness and economic complementarity.

Foreign Ministers attend the Fourth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Luang Prabang, Laos on December 17, 2018. /Chinese MOFA Photo

Mentioning that the LMC is heading towards a stage of fast development, the Chinese foreign minister emphasized that the six countries should deepen their partnership and uphold the principle of LMC to jointly build a Lancang-Mekong sub-regional economic development zone facing current uncertainties in the international situation.

Wang noted that the countries should promote high-quality capacity cooperation, foster innovation highlights and make more efforts to achieve sustainable development of the sub-regional economy.

Efforts should be made to help the economic construction of the countries and play a greater role in promoting regional prosperity, Wang said, adding that the LMC has a bright future.

Other foreign ministers at the meeting endorsed Wang's words and fully affirmed the positive achievement of Lancang-Mekong cooperation.

China is the closest friend and partner of the Mekong countries, they expressed and thanked for China's contribution to promoting the development of Lancang-Mekong cooperation and sub-regional integration.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at the Fourth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting Joint Press Conference in Luang Prabang, Laos, December 17, 2018. /Chinese MOFA Photo

All parties agreed to maintain the strong momentum of Lancang-Mekong cooperation, actively dock development strategies, strengthen infrastructure construction and interconnection to give full play to their comparative advantages, explore various forms of capacity cooperation.

Defuse the external challenges through LMC

After the meeting, Wang attended a joint press conference to announce the outcomes.

He called for more efforts to build LMC economic development belt together, share resources to achieve the goal of complementing each other's strengths.

Now facing unilateralism and protectionism, the six countries need to defuse the external challenges through regional cooperation, the minister noted.

To enhance the construction of LMC economic development belt, we need to strengthen the forces for peace and development in our region via cooperation in fields of industrial capacity, innovation, people's livelihood, environment protection, he said.

We need to improve institution building to advance the LMC further, making greater contributions to the sub-regional economic and social development, Wang added.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) speaks at the Fourth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting Joint Press Conference in Luang Prabang, Laos, December 17, 2018. /Chinese MOFA Photo

LMC identifies six development directions

On the future development direction, Wang said the LMC countries have identified six directions of development for future cooperation.

The development directions include jointly building LMC Economic Development Belt, carrying out cooperation on production capacity, enhancing innovation cooperation, giving priority to improvement of people's livelihood, deepening environmental protection, and upholding openness and inclusiveness.

A year later, we have substantiated the LMC initiative with substantial steps, Wang said, adding that the six countries launched about 30 projects on construction of railway, highway, hydropower stations and economic development zones, widening the cooperation from some priority areas to education, media, medical care and youth exchanges.