Lancang-Mekong agency for shared future

Premier Li Keqiang's participation in the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting in Phnom Penh - after which he will pay an official visit to Cambodia from Wednesday to Thursday - will help establish a community of shared future in Asia. The Lancang-Mekong River Cooperation mechanism was established at the first LMC Leaders' Meeting held in Sanya, South China's Hainan province, in March 2016, to facilitate cooperation among China and Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand.

The LMC is a new sub-regional cooperation mechanism established by the six countries that share the Lancang-Mekong area. The previous mechanisms in the region were led by great powers beyond the region and international organizations, which made it difficult for the six countries to invest in regional development projects. In contrast, the LMC has deepened regional cooperation among China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand.

The LMC covers a wide range of areas, from transportation, environmental governance, disaster prevention and reduction to cultural communication, tourism, industry, agriculture, resource sharing and fighting transnational crimes. The comprehensive cooperation mechanism has developed efficiently and borne remarkable fruits. Most of the 45 early-harvest projects finalized at the first LMC leaders' meeting and the 13 projects proposed by China at the second LMC Foreign Ministers' meeting in 2016 have made concrete progress.