State Councilor Wang Yi, who is also the foreign minister, proposed creating a community of shared future among China and the countries along Mekong River, in an article published on March 23.

The article was written to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of the establishment of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation and the first Lancang-Mekong week.

This week, China and five Mekong countries will hold a series of events, including youth exchanges, cultural performances, and think tank forums, to showcase the fruitful results of the cooperation.

Wang said that Lancang-Mekong cooperation has become one of the most vibrant subregional cooperation mechanisms over the past two years.

“As a new cooperation platform, the Lancang-Mekong cooperation is rooted in traditional friendship and built up on mutual interests,” he said.

The six countries along the Lancang-Mekong River has launched more than 20 infrastructure and industrial projects since 2016. In 2017, trade volume between China and Mekong countries surpassed $220 billion, rising 16 percent year-on-year. The volume of China’s investment in Mekong countries grew over 20 percent, according to the article.

“As an integral part of China-ASEAN cooperation, the Lancang-Mekong cooperation will help ASEAN shrink the internal development gap and forge a higher-level strategic partnership with China,” Wang said.

It will become an example of subregional cooperation and a preview of the community of shared future for mankind, he said.

China is ready to connect its development to the neighboring Mekong countries, promoting policy communication, infrastructure connection, trade, capital flow and people-to-people exchanges, he added.

China’s development will help benefit its neighbors, he wrote. “The Lancang-Mekong cooperation has shown China’s vision of integrating its growth into the neighboring countries’ development and China’s wisdom in subregional governance.”