Shared resource, shared future
Lancang-Mekong water governance has evolved beyond its technical roots into a strategic issue that can help shape regional development
The Lancang-Mekong River — a waterway nourishing six countries — sustains not only riverside villages, cities, rice paddies and fishing grounds, but also the shared development prospects of China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Water governance has shaped the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism from its inception, binding the six countries together and sustaining their shared prosperity.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the first LMC Leaders’ Meeting. Over the past decade, the LMC has placed water resources cooperation at the core of its five priorities. Significant strides have been made in modernizing various facets of water governance, including cooperation platforms, navigable waterways, information sharing, capacity building and ecological protection. These achievements have become crucial pillars for the building of a Lancang-Mekong community with a shared future.
The cooperation platforms for Lancang-Mekong water governance have been continuously improved and upgraded. A basin-wide governance framework has been established, centering on the LMC leaders’ meetings, ministerial meetings and the Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Center, delivering institutionalized and regularized synergy. Meanwhile, the hydrological information sharing mechanism has been steadily enhanced, with China consistently providing hydrological data to riparian countries. A significant milestone was reached in 2025 when the six countries agreed to mutually provide upstream and downstream hydrological information, marking a crucial shift from China’s unilateral provision to multilateral sharing among all basin states. The modernization of Lancang-Mekong water governance has thus evolved from simple information exchange toward joint action.
The Lancang-Mekong countries have advanced interconnected water networks, a secure environment and digital intelligence. The modernization efforts place a premium on waterway improvement, coordinated patrols and law enforcement, and the digitization of shipping information, thereby further unlocking both the economic and security values of this “golden waterway”. According to Kunming Customs, over the past decade, the navigable tonnage of vessels on the Lancang-Mekong waterway has increased from 300 to 500 metric tons, a 66.7 percent increase in single-trip capacity. A total of over 9,400 voyages have been completed, moving 1.57 million tons of imports and exports valued at 12.72 billion yuan ($1.87 billion), with an average annual growth rate of 7.6 percent. Furthermore, as of April 20, China, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand had conducted 164 Mekong River joint patrol and law enforcement missions, focusing on merchant vessel escort, search and rescue, and combating cross-border crime. In parallel, the six Lancang-Mekong countries are actively introducing digital and smart technologies into basin water resource management. These tools sharpen governance precision and visibility, while strengthening responses to extreme weather and emergencies.
The Lancang-Mekong countries have put a sustained focus on “small and beautiful” water projects that tangibly benefit local communities. With financial and technical support from China, 65 such collaborative projects have been implemented. Covering flood and drought management, rural drinking water safety, dam safety, agricultural production and grassroots capacity building, these projects directly address the most pressing needs of basin residents. Among them, the Lancang-Mekong Sweet Spring Action has built 110 rural water supply projects in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, providing safe drinking water to over 13,000 rural residents and earning a spot among the Fifth Global Solicitation on Best Poverty Reduction Practices. These changes — from clean drinking water to reliable power — profoundly embody a people-centered governance philosophy, building a solid foundation of public support for the Lancang-Mekong region.
Despite these notable achievements, the Lancang-Mekong water governance is entering a new and more complex phase as it embarks on its next “golden decade”.
The first challenge is climate change. Extreme droughts, floods, salinization, sediment shifts and ecosystem degradation affect the basin’s agriculture, fisheries, energy and public safety. For vulnerable areas — such as the Mekong Delta, the Tonle Sap Lake region, hydropower development zones and cross-border shipping hubs — water fluctuations directly threaten food security, energy security and social resilience.
The second lies in divergent development needs. Persistent tensions exist between energy development and ecological protection, as well as between agricultural irrigation and shipping demands. Balancing these competing priorities requires close coordination among the basin states.
The third is the persistent governance deficit in water ecosystems. Uneven capacities for water ecosystem protection among basin countries and significant disparities in progress toward the water-related targets of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development add complexity to basin-wide governance.
In response, the six Lancang-Mekong countries should seize the opportunity presented by the new “golden decade” and the “LMC 2.0” framework to drive high-quality, iterative upgrades in water governance — making it more targeted, resilient and inclusive. This will help forge an even closer Lancang-Mekong community with a shared future.
First, build a high-quality platform for synergy in water governance modernization. The six countries could leverage the Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Center to gradually establish a water governance modernization hub with sub-branches dedicated to top-level design and regional implementation. These would coordinate local water management, data sharing and project execution, enhancing both basin-wide strategic coordination and on-the-ground delivery, and ensuring that strategic plans translate into tangible regional benefits.
Second, turn “small and beautiful” water projects into a “people-to-people connectivity” initiative of Lancang-Mekong water cooperation. In the new “golden decade”, the six countries could develop replicable, maintainable and evaluable project packages, covering rural drinking water safety, school water purification facilities, small-scale irrigation, community flood control, fishery resource protection and grassroots water quality monitoring. Greater emphasis should be placed on post-project management and maintenance, upgrading “demonstration sites” into “demonstration chains”. At the same time, participation from local governments, enterprises, research institutions and social organizations should be encouraged to forge an integrated cooperation model encompassing funding, technology, training and operation, ensuring that more people share the benefits of modernized Lancang-Mekong water governance.
Third, safeguard the autonomous cooperation of basin countries in water governance. Lancang-Mekong water cooperation is open to extra-basin partners, but water governance must not become an arena for geopolitical zero-sum games. The six countries can remain open to cooperation that genuinely contributes to technological progress, capacity building and ecological improvement. Meanwhile, they need to remain clear-eyed about agendas that seek to incite confrontation, stoke anxiety or erode mutual trust. The 10th LMC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting proposed building an LMC 2.0 characterized by solidarity, cooperation, openness, win-win outcomes, green innovation, peace and tranquility. The key lies in keeping basin countries firmly in the driver’s seat of regional affairs.
Guided by the LMC 2.0 framework, the six Lancang-Mekong countries will continue to turn water connectivity into people-to-people bonds, integrating national needs into regional advantages. In doing so, Lancang-Mekong water governance will infuse fresh vitality into the building of a peaceful and prosperous regional community with a shared future.
Zhang Li is an associate professor and a PhD supervisor at the Institute of Belt and Road & Global Governance at Fudan University. Yun Qiburi is a PhD candidate at the School of International Relations & Public Affairs at Fudan University.
The authors contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.
