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2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the lancang-mekong cooperation initiative. china's trade with the five mekong countries has doubled compared with 10 years ago, exceeding us$200 billion in the first half of 2024, setting a new record.

in 2014, china proposed the lancang-mekong cooperation initiative at the 17th china-asean leaders' meeting, which received a positive response from mekong river countries. the lancang-mekong cooperation mechanism was born in march 2016. the leading role of lancang-mekong cooperation is becoming increasingly evident, and it has become a "golden platform" for regional cooperation.

the “potential” of hydropower cooperation

lancang-mekong cooperation thrives on water, and water resources cooperation is the top priority of lancang-mekong cooperation. over the years, lancang-mekong countries have been working closely together to enhance understanding and cooperation in hydropower resource management.

in terms of mechanism building, the six countries have institutionalized the lancang-mekong water resources cooperation ministerial meeting and forum, established a lancang-mekong water resources cooperation joint working group, and set up a lancang-mekong water resources cooperation center to actively promote consultation and dialogue, experience exchange and project cooperation in the field of water resources.

an important measure for water resources cooperation is to establish and optimize the lancang-mekong water resources cooperation information sharing platform. since 2002, china's ministry of water resources has regularly provided hydrological data to the mekong river commission secretariat during the flood season, and has started to provide full-year hydrological data since november 2020. effective management of water resources can enhance energy and food security and improve people's health by reducing water-borne diseases. lancang-mekong cooperation can not only help lower mekong countries better understand water resources, but also prepare for future water use.

the nam ngum 4 hydropower station project built by china in laos has brought huge benefits to the country. the nam ngum 4 hydropower station project is located in the upper reaches of the nam ngum river in the southwest of xieng khouang province, laos. it is a water diversion development and an important energy project on the china-laos economic corridor. after the completion of the project, the average annual power generation will be 884.2 million kwh, which is of great significance to meet the growing demand for electricity and energy in laos and promote local economic and social development.

the sweetness of fruit trade

on august 5, the designated inspection site for imported fruits at guanlei port, "china's no. 1 port" on the lancang-mekong river, was put into use, marking that the mekong river has become a new waterway for china to import fruits from southeast asian countries. on the same day, a batch of thai durian arrived at guanlei port. it took only two days for the durian to be transported from chiang saen port in thailand to guanlei port in china via the mekong river.

fruits are important agricultural products and major trade categories in the lancang-mekong region. deepening the fruit industry cooperation among lancang-mekong countries will not only help enrich the "fruit plates" of the people of the six countries, but also help strengthen regional agricultural economic and trade cooperation. through the lancang-mekong agricultural cooperation platform, southeast asian countries' durian, dragon fruit, mango, mangosteen and other specialty agricultural products have more convenient access to the chinese market, and chinese consumers have achieved "durian freedom" and "mango freedom". similarly, chinese lychees, pineapples, citrus fruits, grapefruits and other fruits have also successfully entered the lancang-mekong countries, allowing the people of lancang-mekong countries to taste the "sweetness" of chinese fruits.

in the future, china will strengthen digital cooperation in the entire chain of agricultural product production, processing, trade and consumption in the mekong countries, establish a fruit traceability system, and enhance the competitiveness of agricultural products and the resilience of the agricultural production system in the mekong countries.

speeding up infrastructure construction

on july 24, the first launch of the "guangdong-yunnan-lancang-mekong" international freight train and the china-laos-thailand international freight train (kunming-bangkok) was held in kunming. the "guangdong-yunnan-lancang-mekong" is another iconic route for building the "lancang-mekong express +" international freight train brand.

in recent years, china has continuously deepened its cooperation with the mekong river countries in railways, highways, ports and other areas. taking the china-laos railway as an example, since its opening, the china-laos railway has shown a booming passenger and freight situation. since the opening of the china-laos railway on april 13, 2023, the international passenger trains on the china-laos railway have carried more than 200,000 inbound and outbound passengers, and the international freight trains have run more than 10,000 times as of march 4. in the future, we will continue to promote the extension of the china-laos railway to the south, connect china, laos and thailand, assist in the construction of the new international land and sea trade channel, and actively promote the expansion of the regional connectivity network to a wider range of areas.

environmental governance is an important aspect of enhancing the sustainable development capacity of the lancang-mekong region in recent years. china will complete the construction of platforms such as the "lancang-mekong national air quality monitoring technology demonstration", "lancang-mekong river basin meteorological comprehensive service sharing platform", and "lancang-mekong regional emergency information sharing and cooperation system" in the next three years.

the lancang-mekong cooperation has brought tangible benefits to the mekong river basin countries. the six lancang-mekong countries have joined hands to write a new chapter in the lancang-mekong countries' community with a shared future.

□ our reporter liu xu