This article was written by Wang Yi, Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China
The Lancang-Mekong nourishes our six nations and binds us closely
together. On March 23rd 10 years ago, we officially launched the LMC,
sowing the seeds of solidarity, collective strengths and mutually
beneficial cooperation among regional countries. Under the guidance of
President Xi Jinping and leaders of Mekong countries, our six countries
have embraced the LMC culture of equality, sincerity, mutual assistance
and kinship, acted in the LMC spirit of development first, equal
consultation, pragmatism and efficiency, and openness and inclusiveness,
and created the LMC speed, with progress and results delivered daily,
monthly and annually. Thanks to such efforts, the LMC has grown from a
seed to a towering tree, setting an example for the building of a
community with a shared future for humanity.
Over the past decade, we have linked our future more closely together.
Facing changes unseen in a century, our six countries have forged ahead
hand in hand, realized full coverage in building bilateral communities
with a shared future, and become good neighbors, good friends and good
partners sharing weal and woe and supporting each other in times of
need.
Over the past decade, we have gained more robust momentum for
development. Trade between China and the five Mekong countries
surpassed US$500 billion, an increase of 150 percent over a decade ago.
The dedication and hard work of government departments and various
localities of our six countries have produced fruitful cooperation results.
Over the past decade, we have forged a stronger underpinning for security.
Our six countries have carried out the Safe Lancang-Mekong Operation,
and made concerted efforts in disaster prevention and mitigation and
public health, providing effective protection for the life and property of
people in the region. China has shared the Lancang River’s hydrological
information with downstream countries to help with flood and drought
prevention and response.
Over the past decade, we have deepened people-to-people
exchanges. The Lancang-Mekong Visa was launched. Small and
beautiful livelihood programs such as the LMC Bumper Harvest projects
and the Lancang-Mekong Sweet Spring Action have delivered impressive
cluster effects. The people of our six countries are visiting each other
more frequently, strengthening the bonds of cultural exchange and mutual
understanding.
Looking back over the past decade, we see three principles that are
essential to the robust development of the LMC: first, upholding good
neighborliness, friendship and a shared future; second, focusing on
development to serve the people; and third, pursuing innovation and
breaking new ground.
Right now, the world is entering a period of turbulence. Hegemonism and
power politics are asserting themselves and dealing a heavy blow to the
international order. Meanwhile, China just concluded the Two Sessions
and officially launched the 15th Five-Year Plan, providing much-needed
stability for our region. It is important that we better synergize our
development strategies, jointly build an “LMC 2.0”, and demonstrate the
relevance of the LMC for our times. This will contribute to long-term
stability, security, development and prosperity of our region, and set an
LMCexample for global governance.
We should pursue unity and cooperation in the LMC. We should carry
forward the Asian values of peace, cooperation, openness and
inclusiveness, and accelerate the establishment of an LMC International
Secretariat, so as to boost the building of a Lancang-Mekong community
with a shared future.
We should pursue openness and win-win outcomes in the LMC. We
should press ahead with infrastructure connectivity among our countries,
further explore the Multi-Nation Multi Park cooperation, deepen
cooperation along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, and
jointly build the LMC Economic Development Belt.
We should pursue green and innovation-drive development in the LMC.
We should deepen the development of the Lancang-Mekong Innovation
Corridor, advance cooperation in digital economy, artificial intelligence,
sci-tech innovation and ecological governance, promote investment in
new energy, build regional green value chains, and foster green industrial
clusters in the region.
We should pursue mutual learning among civilizations in the LMC.
We should speed up the development of the Lancang-Mekong Tourism
Cities Cooperation Alliance, continue to deepen cooperation among the
media outlets and think tanks, amplify the benefits delivered by the LMC
Special Fund projects, and step up personnel and youth exchanges among
our six countries, so that friendship will be passed on from generation to
generation.
We should pursue peace and tranquility in the LMC. We should
strengthen cooperation on whole-basin governance, share upstream and
downstream hydrological information, step up efforts to combat
cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecom fraud, and
ensure the success of the Safe Lancang-Mekong Operation and the
Mekong River Joint Patrol and Law Enforcement Operation. By doing so,
we will create a safe environment for building a community with a shared
future.
Since the very inception of the LMC, we have been holding the same
view that our cooperation should not be “talk shops” but “bulldozers”.
With a commitment to putting people first, we should work to deliver real
benefits for the people of our six countries. Standing at a new starting
point, China will follow the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit
and inclusiveness on neighborhood diplomacy, and work with the five
Mekong countries to usher in a new golden decade of the LMC. Together,
let us build a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and
amicable home, and make our contribution to peace and development in
our region and the wider world.
