Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, December 25.
Lancang Five-Year Action Plan for Mekong Cooperation (2023-2027) (summary).
1. Development goals.
Based on the successful implementation of the Five-Year Action Plan for the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (2018-2022) and the consensus documents of the previous Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meetings and Foreign Ministers' Meetings, this Action Plan complements and promotes each other with the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by China, aiming to build a more resilient Lancang-Mekong Economic Development Belt, build a closer community with a shared future for peace and prosperity of the Lancang-Mekong countries, and create a model of win-win cooperation in the sub-region.
II. Basic Principles.
The Action Plan upholds the concept of development-oriented, equal consultation, pragmatic and efficient, open and inclusive cooperation, adheres to the people-centered and action-oriented approach, and steadily promotes the high-quality development of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation.
Third, the work structure.
Strengthen cooperation in the three pillars (political security, economic and sustainable development, and social and people-to-people), deepen cooperation in five priority areas (connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economy, water resources, agriculture and poverty alleviation), actively expand new areas of cooperation, encourage the upgrading of joint working groups in priority areas, and support the establishment of new joint working groups and cooperation centers. Improve the liaison mechanism between the national secretariats (coordination bodies) of the six countries, and actively and earnestly study the establishment of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation International Secretariat.
Fourth, pragmatic cooperation.
4.1 Political and security matters.
4.1.1. High-level exchanges and political dialogue and cooperation. The LMC Leaders' Meeting is held every two years and the Foreign Ministers' Meeting is held once a year. Encourage the exchange of experience in governance and strengthen dialogue between legislatures and political parties.
4.1.2. Law enforcement and judicial cooperation. With the goal of "building a peaceful home together", establish and improve the emergency coordination and liaison mechanism for emergencies.
4.1.3 Non-traditional security cooperation.
4.1.3.1 Public health cooperation. Promote cooperation in joint prevention and control of infectious diseases, deepen cooperation in traditional medicine and drug chains, and promote medical technology exchanges and personnel training.
4.1.3.2. Combating transnational crime. Jointly address the challenges of transnational crimes such as drug trafficking, terrorism, cybercrime, cross-border gambling, telecom fraud, and human trafficking.
4.1.3.3 Cooperation in disaster management. Explore the establishment of an international cooperation mechanism for disaster management in the Lancang-Mekong region, strengthen cooperation in regional financial support systems, and promote cooperation in disaster prevention, disaster reduction and preparedness, and post-disaster recovery and reconstruction.
4.2 Economy and sustainable development.
4.2.1 Interconnection. Accelerate the preparation of the Lancang-Mekong Countries Connectivity Cooperation Plan. Strengthen cooperation in highways, railways, water transport, civil aviation, and ports, and promote the construction of digital infrastructure such as cross-border terrestrial cables and submarine optical cables.
4.2.2. Capacity cooperation. The "Three-Year Action Plan for Production Capacity and Investment Cooperation in Lancang-Mekong Countries" has been formulated to deepen cooperation in key areas such as electric power, building materials, and textiles, cultivate a stable regional industrial chain, and continue to carry out "multi-country and multi-park" cooperation.
4.2.3 **Investment facilitation. Accelerate the completion and effective implementation of the Five-Year Development Plan for Lancang-Mekong Cross-border Economic Cooperation, deepen cooperation on the "New International Land-Sea Corridor", explore the construction of a new model of intelligent customs governance, and strengthen standardization, measurement and anti-monopoly cooperation.
4.2.4 Energy cooperation. Strengthen cooperation in the renewable energy, electric vehicles and photovoltaic industries, promote the construction, renovation and reconstruction of regional power grids, and develop towards the establishment of a unified regional electricity market.
4.2.5 Agriculture. Strengthen the docking of agricultural strategies, implement the "Harvest Lancang-Mekong" project cluster, deepen cooperation in agricultural science and technology, investment and agricultural materials, promote cooperation in the food chain, and maintain food security.
4.2.6 Poverty alleviation. Strengthen policy dialogue and experience sharing, carry out poverty reduction pilot projects, actively consider the implementation of comprehensive poverty alleviation and development demonstration projects, and establish the Lancang-Mekong Poverty Alleviation Training Center.
4.2.7 Digital Economy. **Establish the Lancang-Mekong Digital Economy Partnership Program to promote digital transformation and strengthen cooperation in new technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data.
4.2.8. Scientific and technological innovation. We will build a framework for cooperation in scientific and technological innovation, explore the establishment of innovation corridors, strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights, and deepen exchanges and cooperation in the fields of satellites, advanced space technology, and nuclear technology.
4.2.9 State-owned enterprises. Strengthen the sharing of experience in the supervision and management of state-owned assets.
4.2.10 Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Support capacity-building of MSMEs and encourage their participation in regional GVCs.
4.2.11 Financial Cooperation. Strengthen exchanges and cooperation between financial regulatory authorities, banks and insurance institutions, deepen cooperation in the capital market, and provide financial support for regional connectivity, green and sustainable development, and production capacity cooperation.
4.2.12 Water cooperation. The Five-Year Action Plan for Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation (2023-2027) has been formulated, and the Ministerial Conference on Water Resources Cooperation and the Water Resources Cooperation Forum have been held on a regular basis to jointly promote the construction of an information sharing platform for water resources cooperation.
4.2.13 Addressing climate change. Strengthen cross-sectoral and cross-sectoral exchanges and cooperation on climate change, and urge developed countries to fulfill their climate finance commitments. Strengthen cooperation in hydrometeorological disaster prevention and mitigation, and investigation and assessment of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems.
4.2.14. Ecological environmental protection and forestry cooperation. Formulate and implement the Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Strategy and Action Framework (2023-2027), implement the Green Lancang-Mekong Plan, and strengthen cooperation in sustainable management of forest resources and wildlife conservation.
4.3. Socio-humanistic cooperation.
4.3.1 Culture and sports. Strengthen dialogue among civilizations, jointly host sports events, carry out actions to protect Asian cultural heritage, and hold dialogues on famous historical and cultural cities.
4.3.2 Tourism. Improve the Lancang-Mekong Tourism City Cooperation Alliance mechanism, explore new models of tourism cooperation, and promote the development of Lancang-Mekong National Characteristic Cultural Tourism Demonstration Zone.
4.3.3 Education and human resource development. Encourage academic exchanges between colleges and universities, and strengthen cooperation in the fields of employment, social security, and vocational education.
4.3.4 News and **. Strengthen cooperation in the fields of mainstream, radio and television, and integration, and establish a joint working group for cooperation in a timely manner. Fight fake news and establish a forum for Lancang-Mekong countries.
4.3.5 Ethnic affairs. Hold ethnic work forums in a timely manner, strengthen cooperation in the protection of ethnic cultural heritage, the development of cultural industries and other fields, and carry out ethnic cultural exhibitions and exchanges.
4.3.6 Religious Affairs. Hold Buddha's Birthday celebrations and Buddhist exchange meetings.
4.3.7 People-to-people exchanges. Strengthen exchanges and cooperation among women, youth, children and adolescents, persons with disabilities, social organizations, and the Red Cross.
Fifth, the support system.
5.1. Project supervision and management. Carry out regular evaluation and supervision of this action plan, important activities and projects, and establish a comprehensive evaluation mechanism for projects.
5.2 Financial support. Make good use of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Special Project** and mobilize other sub-regional financing mechanisms and social resources to participate.
5.3 Intellectual support. We will improve the construction of the Global Mekong Research Center, explore the cooperation model of the government, industry, academia and the people, and hold the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Eminent Persons Forum.
5.4 Place supports. Encourage local cooperation in all countries, and regularly convene Lancang-Mekong Cooperation local cooperation forums to coordinate border development strategies.
5.5 External Partners. Strengthen exchanges and cooperation with ASEAN, the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation, the Three River Basin Mechanism, the Mekong Commission, etc., and establish dialogue partners or development partners for the LMC.