Drinking the same river, fate is closely linked; The six countries of the Lancang Mekong River are connected by mountains and rivers, and traditional friendship has been passed down from generation to generation. On June 27, 2023, the 2023 Lancang Mekong Cooperation Media Summit was held in Beijing. More than 130 mainstream media, representatives of relevant institutions, demonstration enterprises, and experts and scholars from China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam conducted in-depth exchanges and actively offered suggestions on promoting economic recovery and deepening media cooperation.

Stories of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation

The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation is born and prospered by water. The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation is a new type of subregional cooperation mechanism jointly initiated and promoted by China, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam along the Lancang Mekong River. It has strong vitality. The establishment of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism is an important initiative put forward by China at the 17th China ASEAN Summit in 2014, which has received positive responses from Mekong countries. In March 2016, the first Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting was successfully held in Sanya, Hainan Province, China, announcing the birth of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism. In January 2018, the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, marking the transition of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation from cultivation to growth.

All five Mekong countries have joined the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative to jointly build a high-quality the Belt and Road demonstration area, a global development initiative pilot area, and a global security initiative pilot area to build a closer community of shared future for the Lancang Mekong countries.

Lancang-Mekong Cooperation bears fruitful results

At night, the night market in Luang Prabang, the ancient city of Laos, is brightly lit, and tourists from all over the world are bustling through it. While shopping for ethnic products and tasting local food along the Mekong River, they feel the modern vitality of this millennium old city... Since April, the weather in most parts of Laos has been extremely hot, and the temperature in many places has exceeded 40 ℃. "Thanks to the nearby Nam Ou River cascade hydropower stations, the air conditioners in the hotel and restaurant can ensure operation all day long. At present, Luang Prabang has completed the upgrading and transformation of a number of tourist attractions under the guarantee of adequate power supply. The newly developed original eco-tourism, farm bars will attract more tourists and promote the growth of local tourism income. Everyone is very grateful to the hydropower stations built by Chinese friends." Said Su Dapan, director of Luang Prabang province Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.

The total installed capacity of the Nanou River cascade hydropower stations in the basin is 1.272 million kilowatts, with an average annual power generation of about 5 billion kilowatt hours. On August 31, 2015, China and Laos signed an important agreement on the development of the South European River Phase II project. Nowadays, all seven hydropower stations have been built, blooming like Zhanba flowers on the South European River.

The 7 cascaded power stations built in the Nam Ou River Basin, a power operation and maintenance management center with centralized power control as the core, and the Nam Ngum 5 hydropower station, which has been in operation for over a decade, currently account for more than 30% of Laos' electricity consumption. They are the backbone power source of Laos' northern power energy base and an important window in the field of China Laos electricity cooperation, and also a significant achievement in the Lancang Mekong region cooperation. The Minister of Energy and Mines of Laos, Posai Saiyasong, stated: "The Southern Europe River Hydropower Station is a significant achievement included in the strategic development plan of Laos' energy industry. As a large-scale clean energy project in Laos, it will make important contributions to the economic and social development of Laos in the new era, carrying greater expectations and responsibilities.

The development level of electricity in the Lancang Mekong countries is uneven, and there are significant differences in electricity equipment, technical standards, and other aspects. China plays an important role in promoting cooperation in the Lancang Mekong hydropower region. China's plan fully considers and leverages the advantageous resources of various countries, and through joint research, technological exchange, and capacity building, it greatly alleviates the challenges brought by the huge water gap in the Lancang Mekong region during the rainy and dry seasons Ville Manila, vice president of Pathet Lao News Agency, said: "There are many rivers in Laos. We hope to carry out more technical cooperation with neighboring countries, especially China, to promote power export and build Laos into a battery in Southeast Asia."

Assist in the coordinated development of the Lancang Mekong River

Since the establishment of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism in 2016, water resources cooperation has been listed as one of the five priority areas of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation. The six countries of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation region actively play the supporting role of the Lancang Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Center platform, promote the high-quality development of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, and the cooperation has yielded fruitful results. They were highly recognized by the leaders and foreign ministers of the six countries at the Lancang Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting and the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Water resources cooperation has become an important content and central area of the Lancang Mekong Cooperation.

Li Ge, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Science and Technology of the Ministry of Water Resources and the Chinese team leader of the Lancang Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Joint Working Group, said, "As a member of the Lancang Mekong Basin, China has always adhered to the correct concept of righteousness and interests, insisted on promoting both protection and development, and fully fulfilled its obligations and responsibilities through practical actions

The news media has played an important role in promoting friendly cooperation and exchange in the Lancang Mekong water resources, creating a good public opinion atmosphere for Lancang Mekong water resources cooperation, and also making important contributions to the sustained and healthy development of Lancang Mekong water resources cooperation. Through discussions and exchanges, media friends from various countries have better understood the cooperation in Lancang-Mekong water resources, told the story of Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation well, injected media vitality into promoting the improvement and upgrading of Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation, added media wisdom to promoting the hearts and minds of people in various countries in the basin, and contributed media strength to building a community of life and fortune for Lancang-Mekong countries.

The chairman of the Lao Journalists Association, Sha Wankun Rashamun, said in his speech, "Lancang-Mekong Cooperation has played an important role in improving people's living standards and promoting sustainable development of the river basin, Contribute to the sustainable development of the basin's economy and society, as well as the construction of a community with a shared future for the Lancang Mekong countries.

The future of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation cannot be separated from the sincere hand of Lancang Mekong media people. In the face of the new situation, the media of the six countries of the Lancang Mekong region should strengthen cooperation, eliminate falsehood and preserve truth, advocate rationality, strengthen leadership, work together to address challenges and share responsibilities, tell the Lancang Mekong story of common development and shared achievements, care for the Lancang Mekong friendship that is heart to heart and family like, demonstrate the Lancang Mekong vision of a shared future, and lay a solid public opinion foundation and public opinion foundation for building a Lancang Mekong country and even an Asian community with a shared future.

Talking about the Bromance of the Lancang Mekong River

The Lancang Mekong River basin covers an area of 795000 square kilometers, with 326 million people living in the basin. The area where a bay of river flows not only becomes one of the most promising regions for development in Asia and even the world, but also nurtures the unique and similar cultures of countries along the Lancang Mekong River, forming a long and profound economic and cultural connection between countries.

Seven years ago, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism came into being, opening a new chapter in China's exchanges with the five Mekong River countries.

Mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields injects fresh water into regional development. In 2022, China's trade volume with the five countries of the Mekong River reached 416.7 billion US dollars, doubling from seven years ago. China Laos railway is prosperous in both passenger and cargo transportation, Cambodia's Golden Port Expressway has been completed and put into operation, and a large number of major projects of mutual benefit and win-win progress have been successfully carried out.

Carry out projects that benefit the people and continuously enhance their sense of gain. The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Special Fund has supported more than 700 poverty alleviation and livelihood projects. China has provided more than 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, more than 30000 government scholarships, and trained more than 40000 migrant workers in China.

Mutual learning and learning, continuously expanding cultural exchanges, and laying a solid foundation for the friendship between the six countries. The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Media Summit was successfully held, the number of flights between China and Mekong countries continued to increase, personnel exchanges resumed in an orderly manner, and people to people and cultural exchanges have a promising future.

Drinking the same river, fate is closely linked. The hydroelectric power stations on the Lancang Mekong River are like pearls, delivering abundant electricity to the Lancang Mekong countries and significantly improving people's well-being. The historical trend of friendly exchanges and cooperative development among the six countries of the Lancang Mekong River is like the surging waters of the Lancang Mekong River, crossing steep mountains and rapids, always rushing forward. It is hoped that we can use more diversified cultural features and advantages to promote people to people and cultural exchanges, play the role of bridge and bond of people to people connections, tell vivid stories about people's mutual love, mutual help and mutual assistance, and make Lancang-Mekong Cooperation more solid in people to people and public opinion. Editor/Zhao E