Beijing to dominate Mekong region summit

“A lot of Chinese businesses have sprung up,” said Martin Stuart-Fox of Australia’s University of Queensland.

“Larger investments are in plantations and mines. Permission has been granted by local officials, for good bribes.

“Land has been confiscated from traditional users, which has caused popular discontent. A weak government in Vientiane has allowed provincial officials, and the local military, to collaborate with the Chinese,” he said.

In the Lao capital, Chinese workers are constructing the main stadium for the 2009 South East Asian Games. Beijing has also built a national cultural center, and a Chinese shopping mall has popped up.

Not far from the summit site, a Lao-Chinese joint venture is planning to develop the That Luang township and industrial park outside Vientiane.

“This is being called the ‘Chinese city’,” said Stuart-Fox.

“It is widely thought that much of it will be occupied by wealthy Chinese business people intent on extending their exploitation of the country’s natural resources over the whole of Laos.”

The summit co-hosted by the Asian Development Bank is expected to mark the official opening of a 1,800-kilometer road from Kunming, in China, to Thailand’s capital Bangkok.

Besides Wen, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Vietnamese Prime Minister Ngueyn Tan Dung and Myanmar Premier General Thein arrived in Vientiane Saturday to attend the two-day summit. Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej arrived Sunday.

The bloc was established in 1992 to promote economic and social development, irrigation and cooperation within the six countries linked by the 4,200-kilometer Mekong River.

1|2|3

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos Respond to this email