On the afternoon of May 26, the 2022 Lancang-Mekong Youth Entrepreneurship Story Meeting was held online, and the two-day 2022 Lancang-Mekong Youth Entrepreneurship Exchange Camp came to an end. Dong Xia, Deputy Secretary-General of the All-China Youth Federation, and Jatoborn Royanapani, Director of the Children and Youth Department of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security of Thailand, attended the event and delivered speeches. Nearly 100 participants, including representatives from the embassies of Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam in China, as well as experts, entrepreneurial youths and college students from the six Lancang-Mekong countries, attended the meeting on the "cloud" to gather strength for better development and better future. The event was hosted by the All-China Youth Federation and the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security of Thailand, and organized by China Youth Daily and KAB National Promotion Office.

Lancang-Mekong Cooperation is still in its prime, and we should continue to work together to embrace new development

This year marks the sixth anniversary of the launch of Lancang-Mekong cooperation. Over the past six years, in the spirit of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, the six countries of China, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam have worked together to make the Lancang-Mekong cooperation grow rapidly and become the most dynamic and potential sub-regional cooperation mechanism, injecting vitality into the development of these countries.

At the meeting, Dong Xia, Deputy Secretary-General of All-China Youth Federation, pointed out that as developing countries, Lancang-Mekong countries should, more than ever before, work together in solidarity and cooperation to jointly safeguard the hard-won environment for peaceful and stable development, and build a peaceful, tranquil, prosperous, beautiful and friendly home. With the formal effective of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the in-depth development of China-Asean, Lancang-Mekong cooperation and regional economic integration, the six Lancang-Mekong countries will also embrace more opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship. She encouraged the youth of the six Lancang-Mekong countries to further strengthen exchanges and mutual learning, carry forward their friendship traditions, and contribute their youth strength to the development and prosperity of the Lancang-Mekong region and Asia as well as to the building of a common community with a shared future for mankind.

Jatoborn Royanapani, Director of the Children and Youth Department of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security of Thailand, pointed out that the exchange camp aims to establish a platform for experience sharing and cultural exchange, encourage young people from the six Lancang-Mekong countries to jointly promote innovation and entrepreneurship skills and technological progress, and promote the economic cooperation and harmonious multilateral relations among the six countries. She expects the young people to expand their horizons and “learn new perspectives from friends, which will be of great significance to the development of the entire Lancang-Mekong region.”

The new “golden five years” will see the Lancang-Mekong countries expanding their cooperation scope

The six Lancang-Mekong countries are close neighbors linked by mountains and rivers and natural partners of cooperation. Traditional friendship has been handed down from generation to generation, and mutually beneficial cooperation has yielded fruitful results. Lancang-Mekong cooperation has become a vivid practice in promoting the construction of a new type of international relations and a model for exchanges between neighboring countries. Now, the new “golden five years” has begun, and cooperation in a wider and deeper range of fields is advancing at full speed.

Liu Yingkui, vice president and researcher of the Research Institute of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, believes that thanks to the cost advantages of labor and other factors, unique location advantages and favorable economic and trade development promotion policies of the six Lancang-Mekong countries, the cooperation fields of the six countries will continue to expand, releasing more vitality and driving forces.

With the future coming, how can we help young people catch the fast train of development and share new opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship? Adur Jyotinisakon, advisor to the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Committee of the Senate of Thailand, introduced their experience in building a youth entrepreneurship network. He believed that building an interconnected network can promote the internationalization of start-ups and bridge the cognitive gap between enterprises.

He suggested that when promoting trade and investment, countries could focus more on putting people first so as to build mutual trust and friendship, which constitute the basis for business cooperation.

Young people with innovation and entrepreneurship have brought greater imagination space for development cooperation

The six Lancang-Mekong countries are among the most dynamic regions in the world in terms of economic development. Since the launch of the LMC mechanism, young people, especially those with the most innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, have made continuous progress in exchanges, opening up greater imagination for multi-field cooperation among the six Lancang-Mekong countries.

Pan Xixi, a Cambodian youth and director of the Pange Film Company, came to the Academy of Traditional Chinese Opera a few years ago to study in the directing major, and now he stays in Beijing as a film and television industry practitioner. Pan Xixi shared that since he came to live, study and work in China, he has forged a deep friendship with his Chinese colleagues by learning from each other and working together.

Liu Yuhan, a Chinese founder and CEO of Shiyi Technology Co., Ltd., realized in his R&D practice that many high-end equipment manufacturing industries are facing many problems in the stage of digital transformation. To this end, he and his team quickly created digital simulation scenarios for enterprises, allowing users to conduct engineering application and R&D in the virtual simulation world without being bound by time and space.

“The opening of the China-Laos railway has pushed the development of the two countries into a closer track, and we, the young entrepreneurs, have also benefited a lot”, said Ximeng, a Laotian chairman of the Ximeng Agricultural Development and Import & Export Service Co., LTD., via video sharing. She not only cooperated with Chinese enterprises in inspection and quarantine projects, but met many entrepreneurs who came to invest in Laos and became the “matchmaker” of cooperation between enterprises of the two countries.

Utnam Thiavoranan, a young social-media blogger in Thailand, visits shops of different brands of new energy vehicles whenever he has time on weekends. Having lived and worked in China for many years, he has witnessed China's success in “protecting its blue sky”, which he attributes to the country's technological development. “I’d like to share the technological development of China's new energy vehicles with the Thai audience.”

Fu Mingqiu, a young Vietnamese business development assistant of Xiami (a cross-border e-commerce platform), went to work in Shoppe, one of the largest local e-commerce companies, after graduation because of her love for e-commerce industry. She deeply felt the rapid development under the wave of technological change. She said, “the key role of the young generation will enhance the prosperity and development of sub-regional countries in education, environmental protection, cultural enterprises, university cooperation and youth entrepreneurship. I hope to contribute my knowledge and enthusiasm and spare no effort to build a prosperous and sustainable Lancang-Mekong region in the future.”

Lancang-Mekong youths experienced China's innovative technology power in an immersive way

It is worth mentioning that to fully demonstrate the power of digital economy and technology, stimulate the enthusiasm of Lancang-Mekong youths for innovation and entrepreneurship, and jointly explore the infinite possibilities of future technology, the organizer also arranged a full-day “cloud visit” activity on May 25. During the event, the youth representatives who participated in the conference experienced the rapid development of China's technological innovation and digital economy in an “immersive” way.

It is reported that since 2001, the All-China Youth Federation has cooperated with youth organizations and institutions in Lancang-Mekong countries to hold Lancang-Mekong youth friendly cooperation and exchange projects, conducting rich exchanges on such topics as innovation, entrepreneurship, ecological protection, media cooperation and cultural creativity.