A Shared Dream

Zhong Xinmin

The six Lancang-Mekong countries are strengthening the cooperation mechanism to secure a better future.

In January 2018， Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh， his first official visit of the year to a neighboring country， where he attended the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation （LMC） leaders meeting.

With the LMC mechanism advancing from an initial incubation stage to a period of sustained growth， the prospect of a Lancang-Mekong community is set to take shape.

“It is estimated that China has built more bridges and more roads in Cambodia than any other country，” Li wrote in an article published in the Khmer Times， a leading English-language Cambodian newspaper， ahead of his visit. “In my view， the best bridge China has built is the bridge of friendship between our peoples， and the best road is the road leading toward common development. The very purpose of my visit is to continue building that bridge and that road.”

From Sanya to Phnom Penh

On the morning of March 23， 2016， Premier Li received the leaders of the five Mekong countries — Cambodia， Laos， Myanmar， Thailand and Vietnam — attending the first LMC leaders meeting at Yalong Bay Conference Center in Sanya， Hainan Island.

At the meeting， regional leaders put forward a vision of a community with a shared future， featuring a “3+5” cooperation framework made up of three pillars （political and security issues， economic and sustainable development， and social， cultural and people-to-people exchanges） and five priority areas for cooperation （connectivity， production capacity， cross-border economic cooperation， water resource management and agriculture and poverty reduction）.

Since then， more than 200 cooperative projects have been conceived. In his opening remarks at the second LMC leaders meeting， Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen， who co-chaired the meeting with Premier Li Keqiang， noted that over the past two years， the six Lancang-Mekong countries have worked to turn the promises the Sanya Declaration endorsed at the first LMC leaders meeting into reality. Adding to Prime Minister Hun Sens remarks， Premier Li stated that a Phnom Penh Declaration should be adopted to inspire further cooperation and that results should be reported on a daily， monthly and annual basis.

On Jan. 10， 2018， under the theme of “Our River of Peace and Sustainable Development”， the second LMC leaders meeting kicked off in Phnom Penh. Leaders from China， Myanmar， Laos， Thailand， Cambodia and Vietnam were in attendance to review the results of cooperative efforts and discuss opportunities for future development. During the meeting， the six countries adopted two major documents， the LMC Five-Year Plan of Action （2018-2022） and the Phnom Penh Declaration.

Our River

As a Chinese saying goes， “Action speaks louder than words.” Cambodians have a similar saying： Ten talkers are no match for one doer. And to the citizens of the six Lancang-Mekong countries， the LMC isnt just a diplomatic term； its a mechanism of benefit to them.

Two principles of the LMC are pragmatism and efficiency. As Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is fond of reiterating： “We do not go after a high-profile ‘talk shop， but a down-to-earth ‘bulldozer.”

On a Sunday morning in Beijing， soon after rising from bed， Sun Qi received Vietnamese fish she ordered the day before on JD.com. Recently， she has been frequenting the e-commerce platform for durians air transported from Thailand. That same day， a journalist friend of hers based in Bangkok was chatting via WeChat with her colleagues back in China after finishing covering the groundbreaking ceremony for the Thai section of the Sino-Thai high-speed railway.

Since its launch， the LMC mechanism has brought Southeast Asian fruits to Chinese markets， promoted construction of a Sino-Thai railway， provided free surgeries to cataract patients in Laos and Cambodia through the “Brightness Action” project， helped impoverished villagers increase their income by planting organic greenhouse vegetables， encouraged book donations to primary schools in rural Cambodia and Laos， initiated student exchanges programs aimed at improving communication among the regions youth， and dispatched press delegations to visit each others countries.

During the meeting in Phnom Penh， Premier Li noted that in 2017 Chinas trade with Mekong countries had increased by 16 percent to more than US$220 billion. During this same period， Chinas investment in these countries exceeded US$42 billion， an increase of 20 percent. Since the first leaders meeting in 2016， over 330 new flights were launched between China and Mekong countries， while in 2017 alone 30 million visits were made between both sides.

Tailored according to the collective demands of the six member countries， the LMC mechanism reflects their shared interests. Under this framework， member nations can better tap into their cooperative potential， explore development paths in light of their respective national conditions and eventually create a community with a shared future.

Paradigm of South-South Cooperation

A number of solid steps have strengthened the LMC initiative. Progress has been made on all of the “early harvest” projects identified at the first leaders meeting in 2016， and China has provided US$5 billion of concessional loans and credit for the purpose of increasing production capacity cooperation. The LMC fund set up by China will continue to support 132 projects in the six countries， including the first batch of Sino-Cambodian and Sino-Lao cooperation projects – decided on the eve of the second leaders meeting – and will support projects in multiple areas such as rural development， industrial manufacturing， education， medical care， tourism and culture.

In order to best support these and related projects， the LMC has formed dialogue mechanisms at different levels， including those at the level of national leaders， foreign ministers and senior officials， while also establishing joint working groups concerned with specific priority areas. All six Lancang-Mekong countries have officially established their own National Secretariats or Coordination Units， in addition to supporting the opening of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Center for Water Resources， the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Center for Environmental Governance and the Global Center for Mekong Studies.

These remarkable achievements aim to support future cooperation among member states and enable the LMC to exert greater influence in the region and even the world. The Five-Year Plan of Action （2018-2022）， adopted at the second leaders meeting， is set to become the guiding document for the development of LMC over the next five years. The Plan of Action calls for building a community of shared future among Lancang-Mekong countries， making the LMC a paradigm of South-South Cooperation and even more extensively， a model for international cooperation for mutual benefit and win-win results.

Vice-chairman of the board of the Cambodian Institute for Strategic Studies Cheang Vannarith pointed out that as a new form of sub-regional cooperation， the LMC complements ASEAN by assisting the regions least developed nations to catch up with their peers and by promoting regional connectivity and increased production capacity. Cheang Vannarith stressed that the LMC should further expand into further areas of cooperation， develop specific plans for cooperation in priority areas and strengthen policy coordination and collaboration among countries， institutions and departments， all in an effort to expand access to the benefits of these collaborative partnerships.

Decoding LMC Mechanism

Unlike traditional regional cooperation mechanisms， the LMC is a new form of sub-regional cooperation jointly initiated by the six countries of the Lancang-Mekong region. Against a backdrop of rising anti-globalization sentiment and setbacks to regional economic integration， the LMC has become a formidable force pushing forward the integration of the Lancang-Mekong sub-region.

The LMC also complements existing sub-regional cooperation mechanisms such as the Greater Mekong Sub-region， the Mekong River Commission and the ASEAN-Mekong Basin Development Cooperation. Drawing on their respective advantages， these mechanisms are able to collectively promote coordinated development and sub-regional prosperity.

And when it comes to future development of the LMC， a series of new concepts and new approaches deserve particular attention.

First， the LMC Five-Year Plan of Action （2018-2022） endorsed at the second LMC leaders meeting， the LMCs first development blueprint， articulates both a vision of steady development for the LMC and a shared future for the community of countries which make up the Lancang-Mekong sub-region.

Second， all parties have agreed to gradually form a “3+5+X” cooperation framework： on the basis of the existing “3+5” framework， new areas for cooperation， including health， environmental protection， science and technology， education and tourism， will be explored. This cooperation framework represents the openness and inclusiveness of the LMC.

Third， all parties have committed to building a Lancang-Mekong basin economic development belt. Construction of the Greater Mekong Sub-region has been promoted over the last twenty-plus years， while complementary initiatives like the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor， the China-Laos Economic Corridor and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor have been recently proposed. Building a Lancang-Mekong basin economic development belt promises to be a major step towards creating a shared future for the community of countries in the Lancang-Mekong sub-region. Nonetheless， further attention concerning how this new concept will be synergized with other development strategies is required.

After the meeting， a handover ceremony was held whereby Laos PDR was formally recognized as the next host country of the LMC leaders meeting. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen handed a symbolic oar to Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith， who mimed pulling the oar， signifying that the LMC spirit will be carried on among the six nations.