To facilitate personnel exchanges and promote regional cooperation, China has decided to issue “Lancang-Mekong Visa” to the five countries along the Mekong River.

[Global Times reporter Chen Zishuai Global Times special correspondent Wen Jian] On the 7th, Premier Li Qiang attended the Eighth Greater Mekong Sub-region Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting in Kunming. The heads of government of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam and the president of the Asian Development Bank attended. The meeting adopted outcome documents such as the Declaration of the Eighth Leaders’ Meeting on Greater Mekong Sub-region Economic Cooperation and the 2030 Innovative Development Strategy for Greater Mekong Sub-region Economic Cooperation.

Li Qiang said that over the past 30 years since its establishment, the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Mechanism has increasingly become an important platform for China and Mekong countries to discuss, cooperate and promote development. At present, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and change. China and the Mekong countries are a community with a shared future and are as close as one family. They must unite and collaborate closely, give full play to their complementary economic advantages, further deepen practical cooperation in various fields, and firmly stand on the road to common development. Let’s move forward hand in hand and make positive contributions to the peace, tranquility, development and prosperity of the region and the world.

Li Qiang put forward four suggestions on deepening regional cooperation: first, adhere to open cooperation, jointly promote higher-level and larger-scale two-way opening up, improve the open regional economic structure, and create a more efficient and dynamic mega market; second, Highlight the leadership of innovation, strengthen the docking and coordination of innovation policies, promote the efficient flow of innovation elements, accelerate the transformation and application of innovation results, and support and ensure the continuous deepening and solidification of innovation cooperation; the third is to deepen the construction of integration and further promote the " "Hard Connectivity", strengthen "soft Connectivity" in the fields of policies, laws, supervision, rules, standards and other fields, strive to improve the convenience of cross-border payments and local currency settlements, actively create more cross-border cooperation demonstration zones, and accelerate the process of regional economic integration;

The fourth is to maintain close communication and cooperation, practice true multilateralism, vigorously promote the coordinated development of the Greater Mekong Sub-region economic cooperation and the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, the Three-River Basin Mechanism, the Mekong River Commission and other mechanisms, and build a good cooperation atmosphere that is inclusive and mutually reinforcing.

Leaders of participating countries and heads of relevant institutions agreed to expand practical cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, agriculture, connectivity, digital economy, green development, medical and health, tourism, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

The theme of this meeting is "Focus on innovative development and build a better home together." According to the Vietnam News Agency, the Greater Mekong Subregion has a total area of ​​approximately 2.6 million square kilometers and a total population of more than 300 million. It not only has traditional problems that need to be solved, but also faces various new challenges. At this meeting, the participating leaders focused on innovation issues.

Xu Liping, a researcher at the Institute of Asia-Pacific and Global Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told a reporter from the Global Times on the 7th that the Greater Mekong Sub-region Economic Cooperation Mechanism was initiated and promoted by the Asian Development Bank. The mechanism has problems such as lack of focus and insufficient effectiveness. problem, so cooperation still needs to be strengthened. From this point of view, the four suggestions put forward by China, including adhering to open cooperation and highlighting innovative leadership, are highly targeted and aim to make the cooperation mechanism more inclusive.

Many Chinese and foreign media have paid attention to the fact that Prime Minister Li Qiang also announced that China has decided to issue "Lanmei Visa" to the five countries along the Mekong River, and will issue five-year multiple-visit China visas to qualified business personnel. Xu Liping believes that the "Lancang-Mekong Visa" will undoubtedly strengthen personnel exchanges in the region and help further promote cooperation. China and Mekong countries will continue to maintain and deepen cooperation in conventional aspects such as poverty reduction, development, connectivity, and water resources management.

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Editor: Xiao Shan

Source: Global Times

Author: Chen Zishuai Wenjian