An initiative of sci-tech cooperation on cross-border knowledge move amongst Lancang-Mekong international locations was launched throughout the Second Workshop on the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Innovation Corridor Development held in Kunming, southwest China’s Yunnan province on November 11, injecting new impetus into the development of this regional innovation hall.
In December 2023, the Joint Initiatives on the LMC Innovation Corridor Development was issued throughout the Fourth LMC Leaders’ Meeting, noting that additional bettering the framework of science, expertise and innovation (STI) cooperation will promote the financial improvement and social progress, and construct a group of shared way forward for peace and prosperity amongst Lancang-Mekong international locations.
One yr later, the First Senior Officials’ Meeting on the LMC Innovation Corridor Development was held in Kunming, adopting a constitution of the mechanisms for this assembly.
However, STI cooperation among the many Lancang-Mekong international locations extends past this framework. Mechanisms like China-ASEAN Science and Technology Partnership Program and China-ASEAN Technology Transfer Center have supplied sturdy help.
In current years, greater than 100 joint analysis initiatives in fields equivalent to agriculture, power and public well being have been performed amongst these international locations, coaching a big pool of science and expertise professionals.
According to the China Railway Kunming Group, as of October 28, the China-Laos Railway had operated a cumulative complete of 63,000 freight trains, transporting over 70 million tonnes of cargo, together with 16 million tonnes of cross-border freight to 19 international locations and areas.
As a pioneer zone for LMC, Yunnan has constructed 34 worldwide joint innovation platforms with the opposite 5 international locations, in line with Shang Chaoqiu, deputy director common of Yunnan Province Science and Technology Department.
In 2024, Yunnan dispatched 68 science and expertise commissioners to the 5 international locations to conduct sci-tech providers. A particular program launched in 2021 continues to help joint analysis initiatives by younger scientists.
The November 11 workshop recognized inexperienced improvement, digital cooperation, and expertise cultivation as priorities for the subsequent three years. Partnerships amongst universities, analysis institutes, and industries will likely be deepened in fields equivalent to clear power utilization, ecological conservation and carbon neutrality applied sciences.
The Lancang-Mekong international locations additionally plan to collectively construct credible digital infrastructure, conduct cooperative analysis on AI and block chains, and develop a regional knowledge move steering framework.
In phrases of expertise improvement, the trade applications for younger scientists will likely be expanded. Regular coaching mechanisms will likely be established primarily based on platforms like Tengchong Scientists Forum, nurturing interdisciplinary professionals who perceive regional contexts and possess superior technological experience.
Editor：LU Zijian