Lancang-Mekong Cooperation promotes regional development

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Editor's note: Song Qingrun is an associate professor and PhD at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

In November 2015, the foreign ministers of China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam held a meeting to discuss the establishment of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC). The LMC framework was formally established in March 2016 by the six member countries.

The LMC is an important component of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and also an important sub-regional cooperation mechanism between China and ASEAN.

The LMC focuses on five priority areas of cooperation among its member countries: connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resource management, as well as agriculture and poverty reduction.

The LMC has achieved many pragmatic cooperation achievements in the past three years, which contributes to the building of an even closer community of shared future with ASEAN in many fields.

The last day of the 15th China-ASEAN Expo, Nanning, China, on September 15, 2018. /VCG Photo

The LMC has deepened the good neighborliness, friendliness and pragmatic cooperation between the six member countries; promoted the six-member countries' economic and social development; and contributed to building the Lancang-Mekong Basin economic development zone.

The LMC is like an engine, leading the cooperation of its member countries. China now is the biggest trade partner for Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, and it is the second largest trade partner of Laos.

In 2017, China's total trade volume with these five countries was about 220 billion US dollars, which was 16 percent higher than the previous year.

By the end of 2017, China's accumulative total investment in these five countries exceeded 42 billion US dollars, jumping 20 percent year on year.

Since the first LMC leaders' meeting held in March 2016, China has launched more than 330 new flights to these five neighboring countries, and in 2017, people-to-people exchanges reached 30 million.

Now, the LMC has become one of the most dynamic cooperation mechanisms in Asia.

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen chairs the second Mekong-Lancang Cooperation leaders' meeting, under the theme "Our River of Peace and Sustainable Development," in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on January 10, 2018. /VCG Photo.

In the Lancang-Mekong region, several big cooperation programs or projects have been implemented or expanded in recent years, such as the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor, the China- Myanmar Economic Corridor, the China-Laos Border Economic Cooperation Zone, the China-Vietnam Border Economic Cooperation Zone and Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone in Cambodia.

The six member countries are nourished by the same Lancang-Mekong River. So besides the economic and social cooperation, we also conduct the cooperation based on the security, water resource management and environmental protection of the Lancang-Mekong River.

China, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand conducted 73 joint patrols on some areas along the Lancang-Mekong River by late August 2018, especially along the dangerous Golden Triangle areas, to crack down on the rampant transnational crimes, protect the security of the ships, goods and people on the river, and to make sure that this Golden Waterway is safe and flourishing.

The five Mekong countries face droughts or floods regularly. In these instances, China opens the upstream dams of the Lancang River to release water to help its neighbors downstream, which happened as recently as 2016.

People float along the Mekong River in boats in Can Tho Province, Vietnam. /VCG Photo.

In order to protect the environment better and conduct better water resource management, the six member countries established the Lancang-Mekong River Environmental Cooperation Center, the Lancang-Mekong River Water Resources Cooperation Center and the Global Mekong River Studies Center.

The world economic situation is not stable. Protectionism in the US and some other countries is rising, but China and ASEAN advocate and try their best to maintain the regional and international free trade system to promote regional development.

Since its establishment, the LMC model has contributed a lot to regional development. The LMC is promoting the six-member countries' economic and social development, building the Lancang-Mekong Basin economic development zone, decreasing the development gap between the ASEAN's five member countries along the Mekong River and ASEAN's other five insular countries such as Singapore and Brunei.

A training program on maritime search and rescue along the Lancang-Mekong River held in Guangzhou, China, on July 3, 2018. /VCG Photo.

The LMC has benefited both regional and world development and improved local people's well-being.

The LMC mechanism has radiated a unique charm, bore fruit and set speed records. By early 2018, most of its 45 Early Harvest Projects and 13 Initiatives were already complete or had made substantive progress.

The LMC is a good model both for the region and the world, and promotes regional development, protects the environment and resolves disputes over water resources.

However, the LMC also faces challenges, such as balancing regional development and environment protection, raising capital, creating human resources to support more and more projects, handling relations with Japan, the US and other outside powers that have great influence in the Mekong region.

The LMC mechanism is inclusive, allowing stakeholders inside and outside of the region to make joint efforts toward achieving more and promoting regional and global development.

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