China welcomes relevant countries to provide investment and technology support for nations in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said Tuesday.
Liu made the remarks at a regular press briefing while commenting on the outcome of the 4th Mekong-Japan Summit, which was held in Tokyo from April 20-22.
He said China is open to cooperations between the GMS and nations outside the Mekong Delta as a means to boost comprehensive economic and social development in the GMS.
During the summit, Japan pledged to provide about 600 billion yen (about 7.37 billion U.S. dollars) in official assistance to five nations in the Mekong River Basin region — Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand — in order to boost regional development.
Some media have interpreted Japan’s pledge as a means to counterbalance China’s influence in the GMS.
In response to these reports, Liu said as far as cooperation on facilitating GMS development is concerned, China and Japan may bring their respective advantages into full play and enhance communication and coordination to jointly promote development and prosperity of the subregion.
中方对域外国家参与湄公河合作持开放态度
中国外交部发言人刘为民在24日的例行记者会上表示，中方对域外国家参与湄公河次区域合作持开放态度，欢迎有关国家针对次区域的实际需要，向次区域国家提供资金和技术，帮助其实现经济和社会的全面发展。
第四届日本与湄公河流域国家首脑会议日前在东京举行。日本首相野田佳彦称，日本将把湄公河流域作为重点援助地区。
对此，刘为民说，在推进湄公河次区域开发合作中，中日可以发挥各自优势，加强沟通与协调，共同促进次区域发展和繁荣。