Better Together

Mechanism for cooperation among LancangMekong River countries matures By Yu Lintao

Our River of Peace and Sustainable Development. This was the theme of the Second Lancang- Mekong Cooperation ( LMC) Leaders’ Meeting in Cambodia, on which the curtain was lowered on January 10. The conference resulted in the release of the Phnom Penh Declaration and the adoption of the FiveYear Plan of Action on Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (2018-22). These documents are expected to chart the course for the LMC’s development into the next decade.

The sub-regional cooperation mechanism is named for the Lancang River, which originates on the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau in southwest China and flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam where it becomes the Mekong before emptying into the sea. The 4,880-km-long waterway, which flows through an area of more than 795,000 square km, nourishes a population of 326 million people in the six LMC countries.

As the LMC mechanism matures, it is growing into an important platform not only conducive to narrowing the development gap within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and advancing ASEAN integration, but also one capable of enriching South-South cooperation and efforts to foster a more open, inclusive and balanced economic globalization that benefits the whole world.

New blueprint

Proposed by China in 2014, the LMC mechanism operates on a “3+ 5” framework, which refers to the three central pillars of political and security issues, economic and sustainable development, and cultural and people- to- people exchanges, as well as the five high priority areas of connectivity, production capacity, cross- border economic cooperation, water resources, and agriculture and poverty reduction. The First LMC Leaders’ Meeting was held in the city of Sanya, south China’s Hainan Province, in 2016.

Since its inception, the LMC has seen both rapid development and positive results. Over the past two years, every one of the 45 early harvest projects identified at the first leaders’ meeting have been implemented according to schedule. Additionally, a global center for Mekong studies, a water source cooperation center and an environmental cooperation center for the river have already been set up and put into operation. The first batch of projects created by the LMC Special Fund has also been completed, and other funding pledges that China has made continue to be fulfilled. The construction of the Kunming- Bangkok Road, ChinaLaos Railway, China-Thailand Railway, Long Jiang Industrial Park in Viet Nam, Vientiane Saysettha Development Zone in Laos, and the Sihanoukville Special Economy Zone in Cambodia are also underway.

The LMC five- year plan covers more than 20 cooperative areas and is the first comprehensive development blueprint put forward since the establishment of the mechanism. It will serve as a guideline for the development of the LMC over the next five years, taking regional cooperation to a new level.

According to the plan, by synergizing the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and the visions of other Mekong subregional cooperation mechanisms, the LMC is moving toward a new system of multilateral collaboration with unique features driven by internal strength and inspired by South- South cooperation, which will support the regional integration process, as well as promoting the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Based on the plan, 2018 and 2019 will constitute the foundation- laying stage, focusing on strengthening sectorial cooperation planning and implementing small and medium- sized projects. The period from 2020 to 2022 will emphasize consolidation and expansion, when member countries will further strengthen collaboration according to the five high priority areas, while also exploring new areas that help respond to their development needs, optimizing the cooperation model and gradually exploring the possibility for larger cooperative projects.

Chheang Vannarith, Vice Chairman of the Cambodian Institute for Strategic Studies, said in an interview with China’s Xinhua News Agency, “The Second LMC Leaders’ Meeting reflects the participants’ joint efforts and commitment toward