Speech by H.E. Li Keqiang
Premier of the State Council of
The People's Republic of China
At the Third Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting
Beijing, 24 August 2020
Your Excellency Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith,
Colleagues,
I am delighted to meet you via video link for the thirdLancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Leaders' Meeting. I wish to thank our co-chairthe Lao PDR and Prime Minister Thongloun for the tremendous efforts made forthe meeting.
We meet today under the theme of "Enhancing Partnership forShared Prosperity". President Xi Jinping recently called for making globalgovernance more inclusive, multilateral frameworks more effective and regionalcooperation more active. Drinking water from the same river, we, the LMCcountries, are close as one family living in a community with a shared future.Enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation is both conducive to our owninterests and contributing to others' success, as it will boost our economicand social development and people's well-being, and cement the foundation forregional prosperity and stability.
The Chinese believe that the supreme good is like water; waternurtures all living things without competing with them. The launch of the LMChas been motivated by a river, which is both an important part of ourcooperation and an inspiration for the LMC spirit of friendship and mutualbenefit.
Over the past four years, the LMC has grown rapidly and entered aperiod of all-round development, in which notable progress has been made ininstitution building, strategic planning, financial support and practicalcooperation. The LMC has become a new fountain of strength for regionaldevelopment and delivered real benefits to people of our countries.
We have brought the cooperation mechanisms on water resources ontoa fast track. We held the first Ministerial Meeting on Lancang-Mekong WaterResources Cooperation and the first Water Resources Cooperation Forum. Chinadirectly provided flood-season hydrological data of the Lancang River to theMekong countries and offered timely updates on upstream flow changes. Despiteits own difficulties, China increased outbound water flow in the drought seasonto help downstream countries mitigate droughts. Solid cooperation has also beencarried out under the Water Resources Cooperation Center, the EnvironmentalCooperation Center and the Global Center for Mekong River Studies.
We have strengthened economic cooperation and trade ties, whichgave a strong boost to our economic growth. Drawing from the special creditline for industrial capacity and equipment manufacturing cooperation, theconcessional loans for foreign aid and preferential export buyers' credit,China has supported over 40 major projects including the Siem Reap New InternationalAirport, the Kyaukpyu deep-water port and the Vinh Tan Coal-fired Power Plant.Chinese companies are actively involved in building the Sihanoukville SpecialEconomic Zone, the Rayong Industrial Zone and the Saysettha Development Zone,generating tax revenues and jobs for host countries and achieving mutualbenefit.
We have put people first in the LMC and increased theirwell-being. The LMC Special Fund is heavily invested in improving people'slives and has sponsored over 400 programs in health, education, povertyreduction and women's welfare. The Fund has supported 40,000-plus trainingopportunities for people in the Mekong countries, bringing out the region'spotential of human resources.
Faced with COVID-19 since early this year, we have pulled togetherand supported each other in combating the virus and reviving regional growth.In the first half of this year, China's trade with and investment in the Mekongcountries grew by 8.7% and 33.5% respectively, bucking the trend of globalslowdown. Mekong countries saw their agricultural exports to China rise by21.2% over the same period last year. Tracks are being laid along theChina-Laos Railway at a pace of one kilometer per day. Construction of theexpressway linking Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville and other key projects has beenresumed. The above progress has helped regional countries get their economicand social development back to normal.
Colleagues,
In the context of a fluid and complex international situation andsevere shocks to the global and regional economies, we face the common task ofsustaining the good momentum of our cooperation to help tackle risks andchallenges and achieve shared progress. To this end, China wishes to proposethe following:
— We need to take our cooperation in water resources to a new high.The legitimate rights and interests of all countries in developing andutilizing their water resources as appropriate should be fully respected.Meanwhile, we need to accommodate each other's interests and concerns, andadvance cooperation by building consensus.
China is ready to provide more help to the best of its ability forthe Mekong countries to make better use of water resources. Starting from thisyear, China will share Lancang River's hydrological data for the whole yearwith the Mekong countries. China will work with your countries to establish aLancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Information Sharing Platform to helpus better tackle climate change and natural disasters such as floods anddroughts.
We need to hold the Ministerial Meeting of Lancang-Mekong WaterResources Cooperation and the Water Resources Cooperation Forum on a regularbasis, fully implement the Five-Year Action Plan on Lancang-Mekong WaterResources Cooperation (2018-2022) and deliver the cooperation projects on damsafety and flood early warning to enhance our capacity for integrated riverbasin management and water resources management.
— We need to expand trade ties and connectivity cooperation. Chinais ready to further synergize the Belt and Road Initiative with yourdevelopment strategies for deeper cooperation among us.
The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor runs through westernChina and connects Southeast Asia with the Eurasian continent. By harnessingthe transportation routes over both land and sea, the Corridor is exerting apositive impact on the interconnected development across different regions.Greater synergy between the LMC and the New Trade Corridor will make traderoutes more convenient and enable the leveraging of more resources from westernand southwestern China and other ASEAN countries, and thus channel more inputsto the Mekong countries. This will help optimize the allocation of resources,keep industrial and supply chains stable, and spur coordinated development.
China is ready to work with the Mekong countries to fullyimplement the Co-Chairs' Statement on Cooperation of Synergizing theLancang-Mekong Cooperation and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridoradopted at the meeting, and inject new impetus into regional development.
We also need to work toward signing the Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP) agreement within this year to raise regionaleconomic integration to a higher level and jointly uphold free trade.
We need to ensure the success of the China-Laos and theChina-Thailand railways as part of the regional transportation arteries linkingthe south and the north.
Industrial cooperation should be boosted, including expeditiouslydrafting the Five-Year Development Plan for LMC Cross-Border EconomicCooperation and intensifying Multi-Nation Multi-Park cooperation.
Financial cooperation should be deepened to provide strong,sustainable financial support for connectivity.
With COVID-19 control as a "new normal", we need tobuild a network of "fast tracks" and "green lanes" acrossthe region to facilitate the flow of people and goods, and keep industrial andsupply chains stable.
The Internet economy buoyed by epidemic control needs should befurther developed. We should advance innovation in digital technology andexpand digital connectivity to fuel the digital transformation and upgrading ofour economy and society.
— We need to deepen cooperation on sustainable development. We needto implement the Three-Year Action Plan on Agricultural Cooperation (2020-2022)at a faster pace and ensure the success of the LMC Bumper Harvest projects. Weneed to disseminate and share technologies on crop processing and agro-productstorage, upgrade the agro-product quality and safety systems, and build agro-industrialparks to strengthen our sub-region's competitiveness in agriculture. Chinawelcomes more quality agro-products, livestock and by-products from Mekongcountries.
We also need to expedite the implementation of the Lancang-MekongEnvironmental Cooperation Strategy, and step up cooperation to tackle climatechange, improve air quality, and protect biodiversity.
— We need to upgrade cooperation on public health. China will setup a special fund for public health under the framework of the LMC Special Fund,and continue to provide material and technical support to Mekong countries tothe best of our ability.
Once developed and deployed in China, COVID-19 vaccines will beprovided to Mekong countries on a priority basis.
We need to carry out information sharing and joint responses inmajor public health emergencies, and strengthen cooperation in early warning oncommunicable diseases. Public health projects such as the Joint Control Actionfor Tropical Diseases, Materia Medica and Chinese Acupuncture-Moxibustionbenefiting Mekong countries will be taken forward.
International solidarity and cooperation is crucial for the globalfight against COVID-19. China will work with Mekong countries to support theWorld Health Organization (WHO) in better playing its role.
— We need to strengthen cooperation on people's livelihood. Chinawill work with Mekong countries to jointly implement projects on disasterprevention and mitigation, sanitation and health in rural areas, and infant andyoung child nutrition and health to benefit more people and communities. Theintegrated development of underdeveloped communities and business start-ups inethnic regions will be promoted through cooperation programs.
We need to revitalize tourism by holding events like theLancang-Mekong Mayors' Culture and Tourism Forum, exploring flexible ways suchas "cloud tourism", and fully capitalizing on our multi-ethnicculture and world heritage sites. This will foster a new format for the growthof tourism alongside regular COVID-19 response.
— We need to uphold the spirit of openness and inclusiveness. Wewill strengthen exchanges and mutual learning between various cooperationframeworks. The LMC's interaction and cooperation with the Greater MekongSubregion Economic Cooperation Program (GMS), the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-MekongEconomic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) and the Mekong River Commission (MRC)will be facilitated, including experience sharing and joint programs. We willactively explore cooperation with Japan, the ROK, the EU and other thirdparties.
China supports ASEAN centrality in East Asian cooperation. Bypromoting Lancang-Mekong cooperation, we hope to contribute to ASEAN'scommunity building and deepen the China-ASEAN strategic partnership.
Colleagues,
This year, the Chinese government has scaled up macro policyresponse to cushion the shock of COVID-19. While going all out to contain thevirus, we lost no time in reopening the economy. Our measures to helpbusinesses get through the tough times and reinvigorate the market are payingoff.
Thanks to these efforts, we have achieved significant progress inboth COVID-19 response and socio-economic development. The economy is steadilyrecovering. Business activities are picking up month by month. Growth in thesecond quarter exceeded expectations. Economic structure is improving. Thedigital and intelligent transformation of industries is notably speeding up.Reform and opening up are further deepening.
Given the strong resilience and latitude of the Chinese economy,and with hard work, we will be able to deliver positive growth for the wholeyear. China's development will create even more cooperation opportunities forMekong countries and the rest of the world.
Colleagues,
Running through nearly 5,000 kilometers, the Lancang-Mekong Riveradmits countless streams along the way and nourishes all people living on itsbanks. To strengthen Lancang-Mekong cooperation requires the same open andinclusive spirit and the combined efforts from all sectors in order to usher ina brighter future for people in the sub-region.
China welcomes our new co-chair Myanmar. We look forward toworking with the Mekong countries to deepen and expand Lancang-Mekongcooperation, and provide stronger impetus for the development and prosperity inour sub-region and beyond.
Thank you.
Editor: Galia
