China News Service, Beijing, November 5 (Reporters Zhou Xin and Huang Yuqin) The 11th Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held in Beijing on the 4th. This year coincides with the tenth anniversary of the first Lancang-Mekong Cooperation leaders’ meeting. Experts interviewed believed that this foreign ministers’ meeting was not only a summary of the results of past cooperation, but also a consensus building and direction planning for the new decade of Lancang-Mekong cooperation.
Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, pointed out that in the past ten years, under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the six countries, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation has moved from a construction period of building frameworks and expanding fields to a deep cultivation period of strengthening mechanisms and focusing on practical results, becoming the most dynamic and potential "golden model" of regional cooperation.
Bao Zhipeng, a scholar on Southeast Asia at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with a reporter from China News Service that Lancang-Mekong cooperation has gone through the cultivation and growth stages and entered a new stage of development. It is necessary to systematically summarize the achievements of the past ten years, refine cooperation experience, and plan the direction of development.
From economic development to improvement of people's livelihood, from combating cross-border crimes to cultural exchanges, the six Lancang-Mekong countries have continuously expanded cooperation areas and improved cooperation mechanisms in the past ten years.
Facing the new "golden decade", Wang Yi put forward five suggestions, including gathering new forces for unity and self-improvement, building a new highland for openness and win-win, cultivating new drivers of green innovation, building a new barrier for security cooperation, and creating new highlights for disaster management.
Xu Liping, a researcher at the Institute of Asia-Pacific and Global Strategies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that these five suggestions focus on the practical needs of the Lancang-Mekong countries for common development, and also respond to the new challenges brought by the current changes in the regional situation. They cover political mutual trust, economic and trade cooperation, scientific and technological innovation, security governance and sustainable development, etc., and clarify the direction for Lancang-Mekong Cooperation 2.0.
It is worth noting that "unity" is placed at the top of the five-point recommendations. Wang Yi emphasized that we must persist in resolving differences and disputes through dialogue and consultation and enhance security resilience through development and cooperation. Some analysts pointed out that this statement also reflects that Lancang-Mekong cooperation pays more attention to political mutual trust and regional stability in the new stage.
On the sidelines of this Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Wang Yi invited the foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand to have tea and exchanges. The three parties had constructive exchanges on strengthening cooperation, maintaining regional stability, including promoting confidence-building measures and improving relations between Cambodia and Thailand.
Xu Liping said that standing tea talks are a relaxed informal dialogue scene. Serious and sensitive dispute issues are communicated in this atmosphere, aiming to convey the direction of peaceful negotiation. This also reflects that the Lancang-Mekong cooperation mechanism is playing an increasingly important role in managing regional conflicts.
From the establishment of a cooperation framework ten years ago to the expansion into deeper and wider areas now, how Lancang-Mekong Cooperation will respond to new challenges in the next decade has attracted much attention.
All parties participating in the meeting reiterated that they will continue to adhere to good neighborliness and friendship, mutual respect and trust, deepen cooperation, achieve win-win results, and jointly promote sustainable development and prosperity of the region. Promote the mutual connection and mutual promotion between the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation and other mechanisms in the region, adhere to multilateralism, jointly respond to global challenges, and work together to build a community of a shared future for the Lancang-Mekong countries.
Wang Yi said that in the face of multiple challenges in the current international and regional areas, the Lancang-Mekong family must think in one place and work hard in one place, jointly promote Lancang-Mekong cooperation to a new level, solidly promote Lancang-Mekong Cooperation 2.0, join hands to open a new "golden decade" of Lancang-Mekong cooperation, and promote the joint modernization of Lancang-Mekong countries.
Drinking from the same river, our fates are closely linked. Bao Zhipeng believes that Lancang-Mekong cooperation is an integral part of South-South cooperation, and in the future, cooperation measures that are "grounded and practical" will be used to contribute to the deepening and solidification of South-South cooperation. (over)
