As a Chinese saying goes, “nothing, not even mountains and seas, can separate people with common goals and a shared vision.” It gives me great pleasure to meet all of you online. On behalf of the Ministry of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China, I would like to extend warm welcome to all the guests attending the 2nd Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Forum! 

The theme of this forum is “Working Together to Address Challenges and Promote Common Development”. On November 22nd, President Xi Jinping hosted the ASEAN-China Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations and delivered an important speech, which announced the establishment of a China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. President Xi proposed to build a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful, and amicable home together, and work for a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future. The Summit pointed out the way forward for China-ASEAN relations and presented new impetus for further deepening Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation.  

The six Lancang-Mekong countries drink water from the same river and are close as one family. We are naturally bonded and well positioned to work together and deepen cooperation. Water resources is a “flagship” of Lancang-Mekong cooperation. Over the past five years, the water authorities of the six LMC countries have implemented consensus reached by the state leaders and pooled strength to bring Lancang-Mekong water cooperation onto a fast track, achieving fruitful results. First, policy dialogue and technical exchanges have been further strengthened. The Ministerial Meeting of Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation and Water Resources Cooperation Forum have been successfully held. The Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Center was established in China. The strategies, rules and standards, policies of six countries have been further aligned and consensus for cooperation forged. Second, river basin information sharing has picked up speed. Starting from 2020, China has been sharing the Lancang River’s whole-year hydrological data with the six Mekong countries. The website of Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Information Sharing Platform has been launched, bringing cooperation in information sharing to a new height. Third, the capability of flood prevention and drought mitigation has been further enhanced. Overcoming many of its own difficulties, China has given full play to the role of water projects on the Lancang River in water regulation to provide emergency water supplement to effectively alleviate droughts in downstream countries for many times. Fourth, the projects for ensuring people’s livelihood have yielded even greater benefits. We have implemented many projects aiming at improving people’s well-being, such as the Lancang-Mekong Spring Project, the Demonstration Project of Integrated Management of Typical Small Basin in the Lancang-Mekong Countries and the Dam Safety Evaluation Project.  

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

The world today is going through profound changes unseen in a century, interwoven with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and new complicated factors in regional development. The six LMC countries are in the process of rapid industrialization, urbanization and agricultural modernization, and are facing daunting tasks of improving people’s wellbeing, protecting the environment and developing the economy. The LMC countries’ demands for hydropower and water resources are increasing. Amid severe challenges posed by climate change, it is imperative to solve the problems in water ecology and water environment protection. Therefore, it has become our common task to make steady advance in Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation, properly respond to various risks and challenges, and ensure water security for regional sustainable development and shared prosperity. The six countries need to further pool wisdom together, think out of the box and share experience in order to respond to our common challenges.  

Lancang-Mekong cooperation was given birth to by water. Leaders of the six countries have great expectation for deepening Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation. The Ministry of Water Resources of China will actively advocate the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, develop good neighborliness and partnership, and work with the LMC countries to expand areas of cooperation, deepen cooperation, and bring Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation to a new height. Therefore, I would like to make four proposals:  

First, we should keep in mind our original aspiration to promote green and sustainable development in the region. Water resources cooperation is directly related to national economy and people’s wellbeing in all basin countries. The most important task of Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation is to ensure water security for economic and social development and improve people’s wellbeing, with people at the center and development as top priority. The LMC countries are entitled to properly develop and utilize water resources in the basin, and are also obligated to protect water resources, coordinate economic development and ecological conservation and put in place more water projects. This will bring tangible benefits to the people of all LMC countries and boost green and sustainable development in the region.  

Second, we should carry forward the LMC spirit to jointly build a community of shared future. Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation is a vivid demonstration of the spirit of development first, equal consultation, being pragmatic and efficient, openness and inclusiveness. We should always adhere to the principle of addressing regional affairs through consultation, fully respect the legitimate rights and interests of all countries in developing and utilizing hydropower and water resources and accommodate each other’s major concerns. We should maintain close consultation to reach consensus and solve problems, to build up the broadest possible consensus and achieve the biggest synergy so as to build a closer community of shared future for the LMC countries. Now, some countries and organizations outside the region are politicizing and stigmatizing water problems and repeatedly spreading false information concerning water resources in the Lancang-Mekong River, in an attempt to undermine the good cooperation among the LMC countries and obstruct the reasonable development and utilization of hydropower and water resources by basin countries. We should be highly vigilant against that.  

Third, we should focus on the common vision and work together to improve the quality of Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation. The Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation mechanism should be further upgraded, and the leading role of the ministerial meeting as an overarching framework should be brought into full play. Coordination and collaboration should be strengthened through the joint working group, and implementation plans should be formulated and carried through. Efforts should be made to develop the Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Forum into an international platform for cooperation and exchange, so as to pool the “LMC wisdom” and propose the “LMC solution”. We should improve the capability of Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Center in providing technology support.  

Fourth, we should develop a smart basin and build a high-quality information and knowledge sharing platform for Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation. This information sharing platform is built based on the important consensus reached by leaders of the six countries. It is of great significance for combating floods and droughts in the basin. We should strengthen communication to jointly design and build the platform, to enable sharing of data, information, knowledge, experience and technology in water resources at an early date. At present, the Ministry of Water Resources of China is stepping up its efforts to develop a smart water management system with functions of forecasting, early warning, previewing and planning. China is willing to share its good practices with the LMC countries and work together to build a smart water management system in the Lancang-Mekong basin. 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Just last month, the Communist Party of China held the 6th Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee. It reviewed the major achievements and historical experience of the party over the past century. The Chinese people are ushering in a new journey to build a modern socialist country in all respects. As water conservancy in China has entered a new stage of high-quality development, we will continue to share our ideas and experience with the LMC countries, present the Chinese wisdom and solution to water challenges facing all countries, and create more opportunities for Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation and inject stronger impetus into Lancang-Mekong cooperation. 

There is a Chinese poem that goes like this: “From shore to shore it seems wide at high tide, before fair wind a single sail is lifting.” The Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation has been going on for five years and is right in its prime. There’s much to expect in the future. China stands ready to work with the Mekong countries in Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation, to break the waves and sail out, and to make new contributions to the common prosperity of the Lancang-Mekong region.  

Thank you.