On November 4, 2026, the 11th Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held in Beijing. After the meeting, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met the press jointly with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand Sihasak Phuangketkeow.

Wang Yi said that the 11th LMC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting had just been successfully held. Since its launch in 2016, under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the six countries, the LMC has maintained strong momentum and built an all-round, multi-level, and wide-ranging cooperation architecture, continuously delivering tangible and inclusive outcomes. The saying that the six LMC countries have not only a shared river but also a shared future has taken even deeper roots among the people, and the LMC can be called the most dynamic stellar example of regional cooperation.

The six foreign ministers agreed that more in-depth and substantive progress has been made in building communities with a shared future between China and the five Mekong countries, and that the trade between the two sides surpassed US$500 billion, an increase of 150 percent over a decade ago, accounting for about half of the trade volume between China and ASEAN. The LMC Economic Development Belt has been effectively implemented, and the development of the Lancang‑Mekong Innovation Corridor has achieved remarkable results. The Safe Lancang‑Mekong Operation has been implemented efficiently and cracked down hard on combating cross‑border online gambling and telecom fraud. The LMC Special Fund has provided support for over 1,000 development projects, benefiting all Lancang-Mekong countries and bringing tangible benefits to their people. The Lancang-Mekong Visa launched by China has facilitated people-to-people exchanges among the six countries.

The six foreign ministers agreed that the LMC, which started as a seed ten years ago, has grown into a towering tree today, thanks to the six countries’ commitment to the founding aspiration of good neighborliness, friendship and a shared future; to focusing on development and practical cooperation; to the vision of benefiting the people and being open and inclusive; and to the courage of pursuing innovation and breaking new ground. In the face of multiple challenges in the region and the world, the Lancang-Mekong family should take the opportunity of successfully convening the fifth LMC Leaders’ Meeting to take the LMC to a new level.

First, pool new synergies for solidarity and collective strengths. We should carry forward the LMC culture of equality, sincerity, mutual assistance and kinship, and effectively implement the second Five‑Year Plan of Action on Lancang-Mekong Cooperation. We should maintain close exchanges and policy communication at all levels, and strengthen top‑level design and build strategic consensus on important issues such as regional development and security. We should resolve differences and disputes through dialogue and consultation, enhance security and resilience through development and cooperation, and jointly safeguard the overall situation of friendly cooperation.

Second, jointly promoting opening-up and win-win outcomes. We should deepen cooperation along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation in the region, promote more quality products of Mekong countries to enter the Chinese market, and continue to build the LMC Economic Development Belt. We should strengthen cooperation on whole-basin governance, and build the information sharing platform for water resources cooperation. We should advance tourism cooperation and establish the Lancang-Mekong Tourism Cities Cooperation Alliance at an early date. We should make good use of the LMC Special Fund to support the implementation of more small and beautiful livelihood programs.

Third, jointly expand green innovation. We should strengthen cooperation in emerging areas such as the digital economy, artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing and smart agriculture, and promote the transformation of regional industrial cooperation toward new, smarter and greener development. Giving play to the demonstration and driving effect of the Lancang-Mekong Future Satellite, we should strengthen the Research Center for Lancang-Mekong Youth Astronomical Sciences, and push for the establishment of the Lancang-Mekong Universities Alliance, so as to inject youthful dynamism into innovation cooperation.

Fourth, jointly intensify security coordination. We should uphold the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security and resist the building of exclusive “small circles.” We should give full play to the role of the Lancang-Mekong Ministerial Meeting on Law Enforcement and Security Cooperation, continue to ensure the success of the Safe Lancang‑Mekong Operation and the Mekong River Joint Patrol and Law Enforcement Operation, strengthen the Lancang-Mekong Integrated Law Enforcement and Security Cooperation Center, and push for the early institutionalization of judicial cooperation among Lancang-Mekong countries.

Fifth, jointly strengthen disaster management. We should push for the establishment of the Lancang-Mekong cross-border disaster early-warning cooperation mechanism, explore the establishment of Lancang-Mekong Disaster Management and Rescue Cooperation Center in southern provinces of China, and strengthen cooperation between China and Mekong countries in disaster monitoring, early warning and emergency response. We should promote the application of MAZU, China’s intelligent meteorological early warning solution, in Mekong countries, and build a regional network for meteorological disaster monitoring and early warning. We should strengthen cooperation on earthquake monitoring, early warning and emergency response, and build a demonstration network of earthquake early warning stations.

Wang Yi said that a river surges on ceaselessly, linking us with a shared future. China will work with Mekong countries to act not as “talk shops” but as “bulldozers,” stay problem-oriented, deliver more real benefits, put people’s livelihoods first and take action as the priority, and adopt more robust measures to advance common modernization, so as to keep the LMC at the forefront of regional cooperation, set a benchmark for the solidarity and collective strengths of the Global South, and jointly inject the positive energy of the LMC into today’s turbulent and complex world.