Infographic: LMC has become stellar example of regional cooperation over past decade

（AI-assisted Creation）

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the first LMC Leaders’ Meeting. Over the past decade, with the concerted efforts of all countries, LMC has grown from strength to strength, becoming a stellar example of regional cooperation brimming with vitality and potential. Solid progress has been made in building a community with a shared future between China and the five Mekong countries bilaterally and multilaterally. Trade between the two sides has exceeded US$500 billion, up by 150 percent compared with that of 10 years ago. Efforts in building the LMC Economic Development Belt have yielded fruitful outcomes. The Lancang-Mekong Innovation Corridor has become a new highlight.  Faster headway is being made in boosting regional power connectivity. The LMC Special Fund has provided support for over 1,000 small and smart projects. The Lancang-Mekong Sweet Spring Action and the Hundred, Thousand, Ten Thousand Action Plan on Lancang-Mekong Agricultural Cooperation, among others, have delivered real results. The Lancang-Mekong Visa has facilitated people-to-people exchanges among the six countries.

As the century-defining transformation unfolds at an accelerating pace, LMC’s role in promoting openness and development and safeguarding peace and tranquility is becoming even more pronounced. China hopes to take the upcoming Foreign Ministers’ Meeting as an opportunity to work with the five Mekong countries to take stock of past experience, plan future cooperation, discuss in particular the blueprint for LMC 2.0, explore new mechanisms for openness and cooperation, build more platforms for industrial innovation, and make greater progress in law enforcement and security cooperation, so as to inject strong impetus into building a Lancang-Mekong community with a shared future of peace, prosperity and sustainable development.