Lancang-Mekong cooperation should not talk the talk,but walk the walk

By APD Writer Chen Jiabao

**BANGKOK, July 24 (APD) - **China wishes to work together with Thailand and other Mekong countries to ensure a practical and effective mechanism for the Lancang-Mekong Coopeation(LMC) ,Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Monday.

Wang made the remarks at a joint press meeting with his Thai counter part Don Pramudwinai during his visit to Thailand in Bangkok.

Wang noted that the mechanism should not just talk the talk , but walk the walk.

The LMC members are China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The six countries along the Mekong River (the Chinese stretch of which is called the Lancang River) launched the LMC mechanism in 2015 and convened the first Leaders' Meeting in March 2016.

The LMC, emphasizing efficiency and practical results, has mede rapid progress since last March, Wang said, adding that projects that have already been approved would be completed by the end of this year.

He said the LMC will focuses on planning the third Lancang-Mekong Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the latter half of this year to prepare for the upcoming Lancang-Mekong Leaders' Meeting in 2018.

According to Wang, the six countries are also expected to form six joint working groups within 2017 to facilitate cooperation in connectivity, energy, cross-border economy, water resources and agriculture.

Wang noted that a five-year action plan will be submitted at the summit where a second group of projects will be confirmed.

The LMC is a new sub-regional cooperation mechanism jointly established by the six countries along the river in the spirit of mutual assistance and win-win cooperation, said Wang, stressing that the project-based mechanism performs better in serving the common needs of the six countries compared with other Mekong cooperation mechanisms.

The six countries have gradually cultivated a Lancang-Mekong culture featuring equal treatment, sincerity, mutual assistance and family-like closeness, which constantly drives the mechanism, he said.

China, together with Thailand and other Mekong countries, will try the best to set the mechanism an example for regional cooperation and South-South cooperation as well as forging a community of shared future, Wang said.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)