Latest news with #GreaterMekongSubregion
The Star
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Chinese freight vehicles depart for Vietnam on milestone journey
Freight trucks lining to depart from Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan province, bound for Hanoi on May 14, 2025. - China Daily/ANN BEIJING: A total of 18 freight trucks and two buses departed from China on Wednesday (May 14) bound for Hanoi, Vietnam, marking the first time Chinese freight vehicles have entered the Vietnamese hinterland under the Cross-Border Transport Agreement of the Greater Mekong Subregion initiative. The convoy, carrying a range of cargo including electronic components, fresh vegetables, and general merchandise, set off from Kunming in Southwest China's Yunnan province and Nanning in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The vehicles are expected to arrive in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, on Thursday. The milestone journey underscores deepening transport cooperation between China and Vietnam and is expected to significantly enhance cross-border logistics efficiency and promote regional economic integration. - China Daily/ANN
South China Morning Post
23-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Formal Asean-China framework could plug the gap in Mekong River cooperation
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at [email protected] or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification Advertisement In a ceremony held last August, Cambodia broke ground on the controversial China-backed Funan Techo canal . Formally designated as a logistical solution linking Phnom Penh to the Gulf of Thailand, the canal's potential as a geopolitical threat features heavily in independent analyses. Facing a move that should generate worry for both regional partners and China's adversaries, Vietnam's official narrative has been one of neutrality. Hanoi's approach is not unjustified. This response enables a potential resolution via channels between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). For Vietnam, insecurity in the Mekong Delta is a headache that begins upstream in China. Profound changes to the delta's ecosystem can be linked to a series of Chinese hydropower dams. Meanwhile, China's holding back of key operational data on Mekong River storage makes it a crucial but exasperating partner. Wrangling with Cambodia over a project linked to the Belt and Road Initiative also risks colliding with China's growing economic dominance in the region, a sensitive topic Hanoi has sought to avoid. Asean is a potential recourse for water resource diplomacy given Vietnam's tricky situation. A formal Asean-China framework could plug the gap in Mekong River cooperation. Both the Greater Mekong Subregion and Lancang-Mekong Cooperation programmes have all six riparian countries as signatories, but neither has the appropriate procedures in place for resource management. The Mekong River Commission, which provides dispute resolution, does not include China and Myanmar. Advertisement Vietnam has an interest in spearheading Asean-China cooperation on water resources as Asean gives it the leverage to raise issues that have long gone unresolved. In addition, Asean's dispute settlement mechanism has potential in the water resources context. Given the proliferation of transboundary basins and aquifers in the region, a project that connects China and Asean on water management can benefit everyone.
