On November 7, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning held a regular press conference where details about the eighth leaders' meeting of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) economic cooperation in Kunming were revealed. Premier Li Qiang presided over the event, which was attended by heads of government from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the President of the Asian Development Bank.
On November 7, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning held a regular press conference where details about the eighth leaders' meeting of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) economic cooperation in Kunming were revealed. Premier Li Qiang presided over the event, which was attended by heads of government from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the President of the Asian Development Bank.
According to Mao Ning, Premier Li noted that since its establishment over 30 years ago, the GMS mechanism has served as a crucial platform for China and Mekong countries to discuss cooperation and drive development together. Thanks to the joint efforts of all parties, regional economic cooperation has made fresh progress, with expanding trade and investment scales, improved connectivity levels, broader areas of mutually beneficial cooperation, and deepened people-to-people understanding, demonstrating the vitality and resilience of the GMS mechanism.
Premier Li Qiang emphasized that as developing countries with shared mountains, rivers, and close cultural ties, China and Mekong nations form a community with a shared future. In the face of complex international situations, it is essential to unite closely and further leverage economic complementarity into practical collaboration across various fields.
First, China is committed to maintaining open cooperation to enhance trade and investment facilitation levels. It is willing to work with Mekong countries to achieve higher-level bilateral openness and create a more efficient super-large market.
Second, China aims to highlight innovation leadership and cultivate new momentum for regional development. In particular, it plans to deepen cooperation in new energy batteries, automobiles, and photovoltaic industries with Mekong nations. Additionally, it will expand partnerships in clean energy, smart manufacturing, and big data technology applications in smart cities.
Third, China will deepen connectivity construction to accelerate regional economic integration. This includes closer "hard connectivity" through infrastructure improvements and enhanced "soft connectivity" in terms of policies and regulations.
Fourth, China will strengthen communication and coordination to achieve better synergy among various cooperative mechanisms in the region. Together with all parties, China advocates true multilateralism and promotes coordinated development between initiatives like the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation.
All participants agreed to expand cooperation in trade and economic sectors such as agriculture, connectivity, digital economy, green development, healthcare, tourism, and culture, aiming to create new growth drivers and contribute positively to peace, stability, and prosperity in the region. The meeting adopted the "Joint Declaration of the 8th GMS Leaders’ Meeting" and the "GMS 2030 Innovation Development Strategy."