Working together to build an LMC 2.0 and bringing regional cooperation to a higher level

2026-03-24 - 09:40

This article was written by Zhang Jianwei, Chinese Ambassador to Thailand. The Lancang-Mekong River, a mother river winding for thousands of kilometers and nourishing the vast lands on which it runs, binds the peoples of the six Lancang-Mekong countries closely together. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the first Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Leaders’ Meeting. Since its inception, the LMC has stayed true to its founding mission of “shared river, shared future,” carried forward the LMC culture of equality, sincerity, mutual assistance, and kinship, and acted in the Lancang-Mekong spirit of development priority, equal negotiation, pragmatism and high efficiency, openness and inclusiveness. The LMC has been advancing cooperation across the three pillars and five priority areas at an “LMC speed” marked by daily progress, monthly results and annual elevation, becoming a golden example of dynamic regional cooperation with limitless potential. A decade of joint endeavors yielding fruitful progress Over the past 10 years, the strategic trust among the six countries has continued to deepen. Communities with a shared future has been established between China and all five Mekong countries, and the building of a Lancang-Mekong community with a shared future has achieved solid progress. Security cooperation has been steadily enhanced, with the Safe Lancang-Mekong joint operation advancing in depth and combating cross-border crimes such as online gambling and online scam generating positive outcomes. Economic and trade cooperation has been steadily upgraded. Trade between China and the five Mekong countries has grown by 125 percent over the decade. Hard and soft regional connectivity has been strengthened, industrial and supply chains cooperation has deepened, and the development of innovation corridors has become a new highlight. The peoples have become ever closer to each other. The “Lancang-Mekong Visa” has made people-to-people exchanges more convenient, and the LMC Special Fund has supported over a thousand “small and beautiful” projects in areas including water resources, agriculture, poverty reduction, and public health, bringing tangible benefits to the people of the six countries. Focusing on building an LMC 2.0 for upgraded regional cooperation Last August, the foreign ministers of the six Lancang-Mekong countries gathered in Anning, Yunnan, and held a successful 10th Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed that all parties need to commit to building an LMC 2.0 featuring solidarity and cooperation, openness and win-win outcomes, green innovation, and peace and tranquility, and jointly usher in another golden decade for the LMC. These words have received positive responses from all sides. Going forward, we, the Lancang-Mekong countries, need to work to strengthen the LMC institutional building, enhance high-level strategic communication, and promote the establishment of an LMC secretariat. We should speed up economic integration, focus on the development of the Lancang-Mekong Economic Development Belt, and build a better-connected regional transport, industrial and energy network so as to provide strong underpinning for the stability of regional industrial and supply chains. We need to explore coordinated regional governance, take joint actions on countering transnational crimes, water resources management, environmental protection and other matters, and strengthen the Lancang-Mekong Integrated Law Enforcement and Security Cooperation Center to further enhance regional security. We need to foster a stronger sense of the Lancang-Mekong family, encourage people-to-people and cultural exchanges, deepen cooperation on culture, tourism, education, media and think tanks, and deliver more tangible benefits to our peoples. Deepening Lancang-Mekong solidarity and collaboration to tackle global risks and challenges In today’s world, changes unseen in a century are unfolding at an accelerated pace. Rampant hegemonic moves and power politics have caused severe impact on the current international order. Asia’s long-standing peace and stability has not come by easily and should be all the more cherished. China has always been an anchor of regional security, an engine of development and prosperity, and a practitioner of shared Asian values. China always advocates open regionalism and true multilateralism, follows the policy of fostering an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood, pursues the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, and stays true to the vision of a shared future for humanity. The Lancang-Mekong countries should continue to make the region a pacesetter in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and an exemplar in implementing the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative, and commit to strengthening good neighborliness and mutually beneficial cooperation. China is ready to work with neighboring countries to accelerate the building of a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful, and amicable home and jointly usher in a bright future for the Lancang-Mekong region. Carrying forward the special bond of China-Thailand friendship and jointly ushering in the next golden 50 years China and Thailand are good relatives, close friends, and reliable partners. The two countries have withstood the test of changing international landscapes, and have always respected each other, treated each other as equals and with sincerity and mutual trust, and stood by each other in times of need. Last year, His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn, together with Her Majesty Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana, paid a successful state visit to China. This historic visit, the first by a Thai king to China since the establishment of diplomatic ties, stands as a powerful testament to our profound friendship characterized by the saying “China and Thailand as close as one family” and the great importance that the Thai royal family places on our bilateral relations. The strategic guidance of the two heads of state has injected strong impetus into building a China-Thailand community with a shared future for enhanced stability, prosperity and sustainability. Thailand is a key advocate and an important contributor to Lancang-Mekong cooperation, currently serving as the co-chair of the LMC. This year marks the beginning of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan and the first year into the next golden 50 years of China-Thailand relations. China stands ready to work hand in hand with Thailand to forge greater synergy between China’s 15th Five-Year Plan and Thailand’s economic development strategies, continuously deepen strategic coordination and practical cooperation, support Thailand in hosting the fifth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting, and ensure that the China-Thailand community with a shared future delivers even more benefits to our two countries and peoples, thus injecting greater certainty into a changing and turbulent international situation with the stability of our bilateral relations.