Lancang-Mekong Cooperation remains key driver for regional growth

The teamwork displayed by countries in the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation framework during the COVID-19 pandemic shows that it will remain a key driver of regional socioeconomic development and sustainability, experts said.

China has provided nearly 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to the five Mekong countries－Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam－and also worked with Myanmar to produce vaccines in the Southeast Asian country. Earlier, the Mekong countries had also donated medical supplies to China while it was tackling outbreaks in cities including Wuhan.

China has also accelerated programs such as the Lancang-Mekong Sweet Spring project during the pandemic, aiming to ensure access to safe drinking water in the rural areas of the Mekong countries.

Ukrist Pathmanand, director of the Mekong Research Center of the Institute of Asian Studies at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, said the framework represents "important regional cooperation" in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Unlike many other cooperation frameworks in the subregion, the framework mainly focuses on socioeconomic development, such as green and sustainable development, he said. The framework was established by six countries along the river on March 23, 2016.

The names Lancang and Mekong refer to the same important waterway that runs through China and the Indochina Peninsula. Originating on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, the 4,880-kilometer river is called Lancang in China. The downstream flowing out of China is called the Mekong, running through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Over the past six years, the framework has become one of the most dynamic cooperation mechanisms among countries in the region as they deepen their friendship, promote pragmatic cooperation and improve people's well-being based on the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.

In the pursuit of joint development, trade volume between China and the five Mekong countries reached nearly $400 billion in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 23 percent, said Han Zhiqiang, China's ambassador to Thailand.

Thailand will take over the co-host chairmanship of the framework this year. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with visiting Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai in Tunxi, Anhui province, on Saturday, and the two sides agreed to deepen pragmatic cooperation under the mechanism of the framework.

Key infrastructure projects, such as the China-Laos Railway, have made huge progress in enhancing regional connectivity. By Sunday, the railway had handled over 2.25 million passenger trips and transported 1.31 million metric tons of cargo since its launch in December, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Besides the close trade and economic ties, Ukrist from Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University noted that China was the first nation to provide timely medical support to Mekong countries during the pandemic.

"It is very important for China to participate and be a key member of the LMC because (this is about) people-to-people relations in the region," said Ukrist, adding that the framework functions not only at government level but also connects ordinary people, especially the poor and those living close to the river.

Thong Mengdavid, research associate of the Mekong Center for Strategic Studies at Phnom Penh-based think tank Asian Vision Institute, said China has committed to many regional development projects under the Belt and Road Initiative and the framework, such as hydropower and dam construction, as well as economic and trade exchanges.

"I strongly emphasize that the collective economic benefits, such as from regional initiatives led by China, should be depoliticized and regional cooperation should be endorsed and strengthened for the welfare of the people living in the Mekong-Lancang countries," Thong said.

China has been sharing year-round hydrological information about the river since November 2020 with Mekong countries and the Mekong River Commission, an intergovernmental agency, which Thong said contributes to the improvement of river monitoring and flood and drought forecasting in those countries.

While the steady development of bilateral ties between China and Mekong countries－particularly regarding investment and tourism－will remain crucial, Thong said, promotion of the digital economy and digital society has become the driving force of the region's economic growth.

Thong hopes to see deeper and more tangible collaboration through the defining of priorities for digital cooperation, faster development of physical infrastructure by providing technical support related to information networks such as 5G, and promoting the digitalization of agriculture.

As the pandemic has highlighted the importance of sustainable development, which is also central to the framework, Ukrist said governments in the region need to find a balance between economic growth and sustainability.