Bao Zhipeng, Deputy Secretary General of the Global Mekong Research Center (China Center)
In 2015, the first Lancang Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held. This year, the Lancang Mekong Cooperation has entered its tenth year. As the first regional cooperation mechanism jointly established by six countries with the goal of building a community with a shared future, the Lancang Mekong cooperation has made positive progress in various fields over the past decade through the joint efforts of the six countries, and has become a “golden platform” for regional cooperation.
The six countries of the Lancang Mekong region are connected by mountains and rivers, with a shared culture, interests, and destiny. In the past decade, the six Lancang Mekong countries have focused on the three pillars of political security, economic and sustainable development, and social and cultural development, focusing on the five priority areas of “connectivity, production capacity cooperation, cross-border economy, water resources, agriculture, and poverty reduction”, continuously strengthening mechanism construction, and solidly carrying out practical cooperation. Guided by the strategy of the leaders of the six countries, the Lancang Mekong countries adhere to integrity and innovation, constantly accumulate political mutual trust, and are committed to building the Lancang Mekong region into a “the Belt and Road” demonstration area, a pilot area of the global development initiative, a pilot area of the global security initiative, and a priority area of the global civilization initiative. The content of Lancang Mekong Cooperation continues to enrich and its efficiency continues to improve.
Firstly, positive results have been achieved in the construction of a community of shared future among the Lancang Mekong countries. China Cambodia, China Laos, China Myanmar, China Thailand, and China Vietnam have successively announced the construction of a community of shared future, and the Lancang Mekong region has achieved full coverage of the construction of a bilateral and multilateral community of shared future. At the same time, China and the five Mekong countries continue to deepen community building in functional areas such as oceans and networks. The three-dimensional and all-round pattern of the Lancang Mekong countries’ community of shared future is gradually taking shape.
The second is the continuous improvement of the Lancang Mekong Cooperation mechanism construction. As a multilateral cooperation mechanism that adopts the intergovernmental cooperation model, the Lancang Mekong Cooperation adheres to the pattern of “leadership, all-round coverage, and participation of all departments”, and continuously explores new paths for efficient and feasible mechanism development on this basis. On the basis of holding leadership meetings every two years and foreign ministers’ meetings every year, the working group mechanism for the six priority areas at the ministerial level is operating well. In the field of security, the Lancang Mekong Law Enforcement Cooperation Center actively plays the main platform role of regional law enforcement cooperation, and its “Peaceful Lancang Mekong” operation continues to help create a peaceful and stable environment in the Lancang Mekong region. The six countries have achieved positive results in cracking down on cross-border online gambling and fraud. Under the framework of the Lancang Mekong Cooperation, the construction of platforms such as the Global Mekong Research Center, Lancang Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Center, Lancang Mekong Environmental Cooperation Center, and Lancang Mekong Agricultural Cooperation Center has been continuously improved and developed, providing strong intellectual support for the Lancang Mekong Cooperation.
The third is the increasingly mature cooperation model of “development first, pragmatic and efficient, project oriented”. The project system of the Lancang Mekong Cooperation Special Fund has been continuously improved, and hundreds of projects benefiting the people have been supported so far. The more than 100 “Harvest Lancang Mekong” project clusters carried out in countries such as Myanmar have helped local farmers increase production and income, effectively enhancing the sense of gain and satisfaction of the local people. The first phase of the “Ganquan Action” has built 8-9 centralized water supply demonstration project sites and 54 decentralized water supply demonstration project sites, benefiting more than 10000 people and bringing tangible benefits to countries in the Mekong River Basin.
Fourthly, the connectivity level of the Lancang Mekong region has significantly improved. Coordinated promotion of “hard connectivity” and “soft connectivity” within the domain. The China Laos railway and Phnom Penh Sihanoukville high-speed railway are operating stably, and the construction of China Thailand high-speed railway and the interconnection of China Vietnam railway are progressing steadily. The construction momentum of the Lancang Mekong Economic Development Belt is becoming increasingly strong. In the past decade, the trade volume between China and the five Mekong countries has doubled. After the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) officially came into effect, it continued to release institutional dividends such as tariff reductions, simplified customs clearance, and trade and investment facilitation, continuously strengthening the stable and smooth supply chain in the Lancang Mekong region, and promoting regional trade and investment opportunities. The operational efficiency of the new international land sea trade channel, sea rail intermodal transportation, and public rail intermodal transportation, continues to improve. The number of participants in the Lancang Mekong Cooperation continues to enrich, and the enthusiasm of local governments, enterprises, and social organizations to participate in the Lancang Mekong Cooperation is constantly increasing, which effectively helps the Lancang Mekong Cooperation to deepen and become more practical.
The fifth is the continuous deepening of people to people exchanges. The friendship between nations lies in people’s matchmaking, and people’s matchmaking lies in heart to heart communication. As one of the three pillars of Lancang Mekong Cooperation, cultural exchanges are of paramount importance. In the past decade, the Lancang Mekong countries have continuously deepened cultural exchanges, tightened the bond of people to people communication, and carried out close cooperation in cultural tourism, sports, education, media, religion, ethnicity and other fields. They have created a number of flagship brands for cultural exchanges such as the Lancang Mekong Youth Entrepreneurship Competition and the Lancang Mekong International Film Week, and jointly cultivated the Lancang Mekong culture of “equal treatment, sincere mutual assistance, and closeness as one family”, effectively promoting friendly exchanges among the Lancang Mekong countries.
Ten years of plowing and plowing, a thousand hectares of green, today’s rice fields are abundant. From “freehand brushwork” to “meticulous painting”, the Lancang Mekong Cooperation has gone through a period of cultivation and growth, entering a new stage of creating the “Lancang Mekong Cooperation 2.0 version”. The Lancang Mekong region is currently in a period of rapid economic and social development. Promoting modernization is a common historical task faced by the countries of the Lancang Mekong region. Looking ahead to the future, the Lancang Mekong countries will continue to promote the Lancang Mekong spirit of “development first, equal consultation, pragmatic efficiency, openness and inclusiveness”, work together to expand cooperation space in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence and green economy, closely connect Lancang Mekong cooperation with other regional cooperation mechanisms, strengthen coordination between Lancang Mekong cooperation and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and strive to build the Lancang Mekong region into a new highland of “global southern” cooperation. The six countries are willing to uphold open regionalism, maintain true multilateralism, continuously strengthen the construction of the Lancang Mekong Cooperation mechanism, consolidate the friendly public opinion foundation, actively enhance the participation of the people of the six countries in the Lancang Mekong Cooperation, work hand in hand, and make “Lancang Mekong contributions” to regional peace and development with more stability.