Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi presides over the 10th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC). During the meeting, an informal meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand will also be held to discuss regional situations and joint efforts to combat cross-border crime.
On the 13th, the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Wang Yi will chair the 10th LMC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Anning, Yunnan, from August 14th to 15th. Launched in 2016, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation is a new regional cooperation mechanism jointly initiated and built by China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The spokesperson said: “Under the strategic guidance of the six countries’ leaders, China and the Mekong countries have successively announced the establishment of bilateral communities with a shared future. Full coverage of bilateral and multilateral communities with a shared future in the Lancang-Mekong region has been achieved. Interconnectivity projects covering land, sea, air, and the internet are continuously developing. Cross-border trade, investment, and industrial and supply chain cooperation keep deepening, and people-to-people exchanges are increasingly close, making us ever more like one family.”
The spokesperson stated that the six countries have nurtured the “LMC spirit” of prioritizing development, equal consultation, pragmatic efficiency, openness, and inclusiveness, working together to build a Lancang-Mekong community with shared responsibilities and mutual support.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the LMC mechanism. The spokesperson pointed out that all Lancang-Mekong countries are currently at an important stage of accelerating development. Facing a complex and volatile international situation, with rising unilateral hegemony and protectionism, LMC countries need to strengthen unity and cooperation to promote common development.
The spokesperson introduced that China hopes to use this LMC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to review cooperation achievements, sum up successful experiences, and plan for the future development of the mechanism with the Mekong countries. The goal is to continuously create a more resilient economic development belt along the Lancang-Mekong River and a closer community with a shared future for LMC countries, thereby providing greater stability and fresh momentum for improving the welfare of people in the basin and safeguarding sustainable regional development.
The spokesperson revealed that, at the proposal of Thailand, the current joint chair of the LMC, an informal meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand will also be held during the meeting to have in-depth exchanges on issues of common concern such as the regional situation and jointly combating cross-border crime.