China plays active role in cooperation among greater Mekong subregion countries

With responsible attitude, China has actively participated in economic development of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) in the past decade, in a bid to push forward the full-spectrum cooperation among member countries, said a Chinese diplomat Wednesday.

Shen Guofang, Assistant to Chinese Foreign Minister, made the remarks at a press conference, just before the the upcoming second summit of the Greater Mekong Subregion on Economic Cooperation Program (GMS).

He said that as a founding GMS member country, China has attached great importance to poverty alleviation and regional economic development of GMS countries.

Shen Jiru, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told Xinhua that as a responsible country, China has insisted on principles of equal negotiation, mutual benefit, and regional development.

Since the GMS was established in 1992, China has signed the "Agreement for Facilitation of Cross-Border Transport of Goods and People," sponsored the sea route development project of the upper Mekong River, and accelerated construction of the Kunming-Bangkok highway.

China also signed the agreement on the regional power trade among GMS countries, upgraded the on-line telecommunication capability and bridged the digital gap among these countries.

Shen Jiru noted that by providing funds and technology, China tries to help the nations that are relatively underdeveloped in economy to shake off poverty, improve people's life quality and maintain social stability.

cooperation have also extended among China and other five subregional countries in such fields as agriculture, human resources, health, and telecommunication.

Leaders from China, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam and ADP president will gather in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province on July 4-5, to discuss how to reinforce GMS cooperation and promote mutual prosperity.

Source: Xinhua