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Friday, February 21, 2020, 18:07
Wang: Lancang-Mekong nations will jointly tackle epidemic
By Xinhua
Friday, February 21, 2020, 18:07 By Xinhua

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at the dinner party of the Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Coronavirus Disease and the fifth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Vientiane, Laos, Feb 19, 2020. (KAIKEO SAIYASANE / XINHUA)

VIENTIANE - Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said countries of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) will work together to tide over the difficult times amid an outbreak of the COVID-19 caused by a novel coronavirus.

He made the remarks at a joint press conference with Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith at the conclusion of the fifth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting here on Thursday.

We are confident that through concerted efforts we will win the battle against the COVID-19 epidemic and safeguard the health and safety of people along the Lancang-Mekong river.

Wang Yi, Chinese state councilor and foreign minister

ALSO READ: China, ASEAN pledge joint efforts to contain coronavirus

The ministerial meeting, which was held amid the COVID-19 epidemic, demonstrated the Lancang-Mekong cooperation of sincerity, mutual assistance and affinity, Wang said.

It also showed that LMC countries were sharing their weal and woe, he added, believing that LMC countries will work together to tide over the difficult times.

READ MORE: Lancang-Mekong nations agree to deepen cooperation

"We are confident that through concerted efforts we will win the battle against the COVID-19 epidemic and safeguard the health and safety of people along the Lancang-Mekong river," Wang said.

The LMC is a sub-regional cooperation mechanism jointly established by Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Originating from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China, the river is called the Lancang River in China and the Mekong River when it flows through the other five countries before emptying into the sea.  


Synergizing the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation with the new land-sea corridor will allow products from countries along the Mekong River to enter the vast market of China's western and central provinces, and from there further to Central Asia and Europe, Wang said

Synergy with new land-sea corridor

Meanwhile, Wang also said China and other LMC countries have agreed to develop synergy between LMC and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor so as to boost the development of the LMC economic development belt.

Synergizing LMC with the new land-sea corridor will allow products from countries along the Mekong River to enter the vast market of China's western and central provinces, and from there further to Central Asia and Europe, Wang said.

The new land-sea corridor is a longitudinal passage which connects the "one belt" and "one road" leading in the north to Central Asia and Europe and in the south to Southeast Asia and South Asia, covering dozens of countries and regions, he said.

ALSO READ: New corridor to boost western growth

To promote the synergy, China has come up with three proposals which would allow the six countries to see closer trade links, Wang said.

The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor is an international trade and logistics passage built under the framework of the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity.

It uses ports in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to reach ports in Singapore and other ASEAN countries, and links China-Europe freight trains launched from western Chinese cities before heading for Central Asia, South Asia and Europe.


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