VIENTIANE, March 27 (Xinhua) — Before 2021, villagers in Hatkeep Village, Luang Prabang province of Laos, spent two hours walking to collect unclean stream water. Supplies were erratic, waterborne illnesses were widespread, and children left class to find drinking water. Today, taps deliver clean water within a five-minute walk, thanks to a modest, targeted project under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) framework.
“Now we have clean water, diseases are reduced, and our medical expenses have also decreased,” said Souvanh, a village official.
This life-changing upgrade is called the Lancang-Mekong Sweet Spring Action, which has built 110 small-scale water supply systems across Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, reaching about 13,000 rural residents.
The action is one of nearly 1,000 small-yet-smart, people-centered projects that have become the quiet engine of regional cooperation among China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, as the six-nation cooperation mechanism marks its 10th anniversary during this year’s LMC Week.
The Lancang-Mekong River, called the Lancang within China and the Mekong in its downstream stretches, originates in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, winding its way through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
In March 2016, leaders of the six riparian countries gathered in south China’s Sanya City for the first LMC leaders’ meeting, marking the full launch of the LMC mechanism.
As the LMC Week events proceed across the region, one message is shared: small-yet-smart projects are not just supporting Lancang-Mekong cooperation — they are sustaining it, turning diplomatic goals into tangible progress.
In Myanmar, an aerial crop yield assessment center uses drones and aerial surveying to replace slow, error-prone manual fieldwork, slashing monitoring time and strengthening food security. Other flagship programs — including the LMC Bumper Harvest Projects to boost farmer incomes and the Lancang-Mekong Bright Project to restore sight for cataract patients — deliver fast, visible benefits to communities.
Supported by the LMC Special Fund, a Chinese initiative to finance small- and medium-sized cooperation projects among the six LMC countries, more than 991 small-yet-smart projects have been implemented across the subregion. Unlike large infrastructure initiatives that draw global attention, these compact, practical schemes build trust by improving daily lives.
“If one word describes the essence that LMC cooperation has brought to Myanmar’s agriculture, it is development,” said Win Htut, director general of the Settlement and Land Records Department under Myanmar’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation. He noted that the aerial crop-testing center has modernized data collection and strengthened cooperation on food security.
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn called the LMC “a successful model of win-win cooperation” and “a compelling example of South-South cooperation,” highlighting the LMC Special Fund as a cornerstone of the LMC’s success, as the fund has supported hundreds of practical, people-centered projects across diverse sectors, including rural development, water resource management, agriculture, environment, education, mine action, tourism, cultural heritage, women’s empowerment, and youth development.
“These initiatives have not only improved livelihoods, but also strengthened national connectivity, enhanced rural development, and reinforced the effectiveness of the LMC model, deepening the bonds of friendship among our nations,” he said.
With support from the LMC Special Fund, Laos has implemented 100 projects worth approximately 26 million U.S. dollars. These initiatives have improved infrastructure, strengthened human resources, enhanced water management, and supported health and poverty reduction, contributing to long-term socio-economic growth, according to Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Thongsavanh Phomvihane, adding that the LMC has evolved into a dynamic and results-driven regional partnership.
In Beijing this week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the LMC has “grown from a seed to a towering tree,” setting an example for the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. He called on members to jointly build LMC 2.0, focusing on digital economy, artificial intelligence, green development and connectivity.
China will work with the five Mekong countries to usher in a new golden decade of the LMC, Wang said, calling for building a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home.■
Asia-Pacific Community: Bond beyond shared river: Small projects deliver big changes across Mekong countries
