BANGKOK, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) mechanism is playing a more prominent leading role and has become a "golden platform" for regional cooperation, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday after the ninth LMC Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The meeting has reached broad consensus, said Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, when briefing the press on outcomes of the meeting together with Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Thailand Eksiri Pintaruchi.
The LMC mechanism comprises the six countries of China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
China and the five Mekong countries have deepened strategic mutual trust, and realized a full coverage of the bilateral and multilateral community with a shared future, and are at the forefront of building a community with a shared future for mankind, Wang said.
Strategic projects such as the China-Laos Railway, China-Thailand Railway, and the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway continue to unleash the comprehensive effect of a golden corridor, Wang said, adding that China's trade with the five Mekong countries has doubled from 10 years ago, reaching a new high of 200 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of this year.
The Lancang-Mekong Sweet Spring Project, the LMC Bumper Harvest projects, the Green Lancang-Mekong Initiative and other project clusters initiated by the six countries have delivered remarkable results and benefited the people's livelihood, Wang said, noting that China's visa-free arrangements with Thailand, Laos have further facilitated the people-to-people exchanges among the six countries.
Wang said it is unanimously agreed at the meeting that the strategic influence of the LMC is more prominent, and is of great significance to regional peace and development. Facing uncertain and unpredictable factors in the evolving international landscape intertwined with chaos, it serves the common interest of the Lancang-Mekong countries and meets the expectation of the international community for the six countries to strengthen solidarity and cooperation.
Noting that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, Wang said the countries agreed to jointly carry forward its spirit, stick to the right direction of solidarity and cooperation, and be good neighbors and good partners who trust each other.
Wang also called for concrete actions to build a stronger Lancang-Mekong Economic Development Belt (LMEDB), helping the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) narrow the development gap.
Wang stressed that the Lancang-Mekong countries will adhere to true multilateralism and open regionalism, while opposing "high walls in small yards," "decoupling and breaking of chains," and exclusive cliques, so as to make "Lancang-Mekong contribution" to lasting peace and development in the region and beyond through stability and certainty of the LMC countries.
Wang said the six countries are determined to focus their efforts in the following four directions:
First, to enhance security. The six countries pledged to further advance the "Safe Lancang-Mekong" initiative, cooperate in combating cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecom fraud and drug trafficking, explore the establishment of judicial and legal cooperation mechanisms in the region, and jointly address non-traditional security challenges.
Second, to foster innovation. The six countries will speed up the construction of innovation corridors, improve regional cooperation mechanisms for science and innovation, and enrich cooperation on digital economy and green development.
China is willing to help Mekong countries strengthen artificial intelligence capacity building and create a Lancang-Mekong computing infrastructure cooperation network based on the Lancang-Mekong cloud computing innovation center, Wang said.
Third, to promote sustainability. The six countries will deepen the connectivity of railways, roads, ports and power grids, strengthen cooperation on production capacity investment, and maintain stability of regional industrial and supply chains.
China will build platforms for Lancang-Mekong air monitoring, meteorological services, emergency response cooperation and earthquake analysis to enhance the capacity for sustainable development of the region, Wang said.
Fourth, to strengthen friendship. Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Thailand diplomatic relations and the 75th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic relations and of China-Myanmar diplomatic relations. The China-Laos and China-Cambodia relations are also at a crucial stage of development.
Wang called for deepening exchanges in education, media, think tanks, religions and at sub-national levels, and further facilitating personnel movement.
Wang said the six Lancang-Mekong countries, sharing the same river and a common future, has created Lancang-Mekong cooperation from scratch and pushed it forward rapidly.
The six countries will jointly write a new chapter in building a community with a shared future for Lancang-Mekong countries, making new contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind, he said.
