China calls for enhancing Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation

Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended the eighth Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Summit on November 7, calling on the six GMS members to upgrade their cooperation after a productive partnership spanning three decades since the establishment of the mechanism.

The summit, slated from Nov. 6 to 7 in Kunming, capital city of Yunnan Province in southwest China, brought together leaders from Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as president of the Asian Development Bank.

The six countries launched the GMS Economic Cooperation Program in 1992 to pool efforts to improve regional infrastructure and enhance trade, investment and economic growth.

“The GMS has increasingly become an important platform for China and Mekong countries to discuss cooperation and promote development,” Li said.

As the world enters a new period of turbulence and change, China and Mekong countries should work together closely, give full play to economic complementarity, and deepen practical cooperation in various fields, Li said.

Li called on the GMS members to advance opening-up at a higher level and on a larger scale to build a more efficient and dynamic super-large market.

He suggested that the countries build a high-quality Belt and Road, implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership well, and accelerate the signing of the 3.0 upgrade protocol of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.

Stressing innovation-driven development, Li urged all parties to promote the planning, construction and upgrading of regional power grids, deepen cooperation in the new-energy battery, automobile and photovoltaic industries, and expand cooperation in emerging areas such as clean energy, smart manufacturing, big data and smart cities.

He said that more connectivity should be made on infrastructure, such as roads, railways and ports, as well as on policies, laws, supervision, rules and standards, to speed up regional economic integration.

He announced that China has decided to issue “Lancang-Mekong visas” to the five Mekong countries and issue five-year multiple-entry visas to qualified business people.

Li said GMS countries should practice genuine multilateralism, promote the coordinated development of the GMS with the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation and other regional mechanisms, and strengthen cooperation with the United Nations, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and other institutions.

The foreign dignitaries expressed appreciation for China’s important role in GMS economic cooperation, saying they are willing to enhance synergy between the development strategies of the member states.

They said the member states will focus on innovation-driven development, expand practical cooperation on economy and trade, agriculture, connectivity, digital economy, green development, health care, tourism, culture and other fields, to safeguard free trade and the inclusive and sustainable development of GMS countries.