Lancang—Mekong Cooperation Grows Vigorously

Zhong Xinmin

Project-based mechanism brings tangible benefits to countries and people across the region

“Lancang-Mekong Cooperation （LMC） has started to take shape， evolving from its nurturing period to a period of strong growth，” said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a press conference following the third LMC Foreign Ministers Meeting in Dali， Yunnan Province on Dec. 15， 2017. The LMC has been practical and project-based， which has brought tangible benefits to the countries and people across the region.

LMC Bearing Fruit

Since Chinese Premier Li Keqiang proposed the building of the LMC mechanism in November 2014， the LMC has upheld the theme of “Shared River， Shared Future”， and given full play to the advantages of geographic proximity， cultural affinity and economic complementarities of the six countries. The remarkable progress achieved is an embodiment of LMC speed and LMC efficiency. All of the six countries involved have indicated a keen desire and common demand in pushing forward cooperation， with bright prospects in terms of development.

In the realm of foreign affairs， Chinese President Xi Jinping， also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China， paid state visits to Vietnam and Laos on Nov. 10-14. That was the top Chinese leaders first overseas trip following the conclusion of the 19th Communist Party of China （CPC） National Congress， an indication of the importance that China attaches to deepening cooperation with Mekong countries. Whats more， contacts and exchanges at different levels between China and Mekong countries are also frequent. This is the best time for China and Mekong countries to expand cooperation and identify new growth areas for cooperation.

In the economic and trade field， from January to October 2017， two-way trade between China and ASEAN reached 2.8 trillion yuan （US$430 billion）， a year-on-year increase of 18.5 percent， which is 2.6 percentage points higher than the average increase of Chinas foreign trade. Chinas imports from ASEAN reached 1.4 trillion yuan （US$215 billion）， a year-on-year increase of 26.2 percent， 4.7 percentage points higher than the average increase of Chinas imports from other regions.

On Dec. 15， 2017， the Third LMC Foreign Ministers Meeting was held in Dali， Yunnan Province. Apart from releasing a Joint Press Communiqué， the ministers announced the List of the First Batch of Projects of LMC Special Fund and established the Hotline Platform of LMC National Secretariats/Coordination Units. They also agreed in principle on the Five-Year Plan of Action of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation （2018-2022）， the List of the Second Batch of Projects and Reports of the Six Joint Working Groups on Key Priority Areas， which will be submitted to the Second Leaders Meeting for approval.

Progress and Improvement

Great progress has been made in five areas since the LMC was launched one-and-a-half years ago.

The first is that all six countries have established LMC national secretariats/coordination units. Whats more， all the joint working groups on the key priority areas have been set up and put into operation. The LMC mechanism has been fully formed， ahead of the schedule set at the second Foreign Ministers Meeting.

The second is that the Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Center， Environmental Cooperation Center and the Global Mekong River Studies Center have been set up as important pillars of the mechanism.

The third is that cooperation projects have been implemented in a timely manner. Forty-five early-harvest projects approved by the First Leaders Meeting were advanced as planned， most of which have already achieved substantial progress toward completion. Hundreds of new cooperation projects in various fields have been formed and implemented.

The fourth is that special fund has been comprehensively launched. After the earnest review and evaluation of various departments and experts， the LMC Special Fund set up by China has decided to provide support for 132 cooperation projects， including 23 projects proposed by China and 49 projects proposed by the other five countries.

The fifth is that financial support has gradually been put into place. Nearly two-thirds of the concession loan set up by China has been implemented. The special loan on production capacity cooperation has been fulfilled. The preferential export buyers credit is being effectively implemented.

The Chinese side has suggested improvements in six aspects — capabilities of the mechanism， cooperation breadth， cooperation planning， capacity building， awareness of cooperation and openness for cooperation. The Chinese side is willing to work with all parties to forge an economic development belt along the Lancang-Mekong River basin， and build a Lancang-Mekong community of shared future， to bring tangible benefits to the people in the region.

New Platform of South-South Cooperation

At the third LMC Foreign Ministers Meeting， the Chinese side suggested that the LMC is the shared baby of the six countries — a new type of sub-regional cooperation mechanism and a new platform of South-South Cooperation. “Synergy” should be the word of the year 2017， they suggested， including the synergy of the LMC with the development strategies of each member country， with the Belt and Road Initiative and with relevant development programs of ASEAN.

Three months ago， at the 19th CPC National Congress， Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the people of all countries “to work together to build a community of a shared future for mankind， to build an open， inclusive， clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace， universal security and common prosperity.”

Such sentiment also embodies the connotation of the LMC. The Lancang-Mekong Community of Shared Future is an integral part of the Asian Community of Shared Future， and a microcosm of the Community of a Shared Future for Mankind.

The LMC is a new type of sub-regional cooperation mechanism with a 3+5 cooperation framework， namely， the three pillars of political security， economic and sustainable development， and social， cultural and people-to-people exchanges， with practical cooperation carried out in five key priority areas — connectivity， production capacity， cross-border economic cooperation， water resources， and agriculture and poverty reduction.

The LMC has forged the LMC mechanism featuring leaders guidance， broad participation and all-round coverage and created the LMC speed of daily progress， monthly results and yearly updates. The six countries have cultivated a LMC culture featuring equal treatment， sincere mutual assistance and a family-like atmosphere and built an efficient， practical and project-based LMC mode of cooperation that focuses on the people it serves.