Four New Hot Spots Formed in Lancang-Mekong River Sub-Regional Cooperation

This reporter, Na Jiahua, has learned from the just concluded relevant meeting that four new hot spots, namely, tourism, shipping, investment and drug prohibition, have emerged in the Lancang-Mekong River sub-regional cooperation.

The first one is international travel craze. After the " Agreement on Navigation of Commercial Ships in Lancang-Mekong Region " was formally signed by China, the Laos, Myanmar and Thailand in a border city of Myanmar on April 20, concerned countries listed tourism as their key focus and designated this year as the "International Tourism Year". Besides, promoted by the Asian Bank, China, the Laos and Thailand reached common understanding on making the whole Kunming-Bangkok highway a high-speed and high-grade facility before 2004. Related projects are under implementation. Therefore, the region's international tourism will have greater development. Sources say, Thailand has indicated that once the Kunming-Bangkok Expressway is linked up, vehicles will be organized for 1-2 million tourists to visit China every year. The two countries have repeatedly organized vehicle rally along the route.

The second hot spot is international shipping. After 10 years' efforts, there has emerged the tendency of steady development of international shipping along the Lancang-Mekong River. Currently, there are more than 300 cargo ships of 30-300-ton class sailing along the river course of China, the Laos, Myanmar and Thailand on the upper reaches of the said river alone. In one short month after the signing of the navigation agreement, transportation and shipping departments of Yunnan Province have received applications from over 60 ships across the country, asking for permission to participate in international shipping along the Lancang-Mekong River. Shipbuilding and hauling are becoming rising industries.

The third is international investment. In recent years, the foreign investment entered the region each year has exceeded US$ 10 billion. Meanwhile, cooperative investment between countries, and within the region has further expanded, this includes investment in the construction of transportation infrastructure and hydropower projects between China, the Laos and Myanmar, the China-Myanmar Ayeyarwady River land-and-water through transport channels, and the east-west economic corridor of Myanmar, the Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam. The project of Jinghong Power Station involving a total investment of 14.4 billion yuan is undertaken in accordance with the contract signed by the two governments of China and Thailand, with the Thai side sharing 70 percent investment.

The last is international drug prohibition. Over the past decade, Yunnan Province, in line with the principle of "equality, compensation, and mutual benefit", has invested about 400 million yuan outside the province to popularize "substitution plants", effectively control drugs, and promote cooperation, thus making great contribution to developing good-neighborly relations and bringing about stability in surrounding areas. A senior official of the United Nations Office for Drug Control highly praised it for its achievements after conducting an on-the-spot investigation.



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