China And Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, And Cross-border Local Government Cooperation Research

With the deepening of globalization and the development of international actors in the direction of diversification,local governments have gradually become an important role in the international relations.Local governments participate in international cooperation based on central policy guidance and their own needs.Local government cooperation between countries has gradually become an important form of international cooperation.Border areas are the frontier areas of a country.Thanks to their geographical advantages,local governments in border areas can directly cooperate with local governments in neighboring or nearby areas of neighboring countries.China is a vast country with a land boundary of 22,800 kilometers,which is connected to land with 14 countries.It is of great significance to study the cooperation between local governments in cross-border areas of China and neighboring countries.Cross-border local government cooperation refers to the behavior of local governments of two(or more)countries in cross-border areas to adjust their policies and actions to achieve certain development goals.Cross-border local government cooperation can be divided into temporary cooperation and long-term cooperation according to the time dimension.According to the number of countries and their local governments involved in the cooperation,it can be divided into“N-n₁-n₂-”dimensional cooperation.Local government is non-sovereign.Cross-border local government cooperation has the characteristics of governmental,cross-border,and regional.Cross-border local government cooperation has the advantages of low politics,flexibility,groundbreaking and direct two-way complementarity.Relevant local governments in cross-border regions need to follow the basic principles of good-neighborliness and friendship and equal consultation,highlighting characteristics and advancing in an orderly manner,complementary advantages and coordinated development,taking into account all parties and mutual benefit.China borders three Southeast Asia countries-Myanmar,Laos and Vietnam.China-Myanmar,China-Laos,China-Vietnam cooperation have experienced the development stage of“tortuous development”to“mutual benefit”and then“consultation and cooperation for shared benefits”since 1949.The continuous deepening of cooperation between countries has promoted the development of friendly relations between countries and created a good environment for local government cooperation between countries.Since the implementation of the strategy of opening up the border areas in 1992,China has continuously promoted the opening up of border areas,with constantly innovating opening models and improving the level of opening up.Opening policies and measures in respective border areas of central government of Myanmar,Laos and Vietnam have also provided strong support for the opening up of their border areas.Yunnan Province is one of China's nine border provinces and the frontier of China's land opening.Yunnan Province is adjacent to Myanmar,Laos,and Vietnam.The total length of the border line is 4,060kilometers,of which the China-Burma section is 1997 kilometers,the China-Laos section is 710 kilometers,and the China-Vietnam section is 1,353 kilometers.As an important gateway for China's opening up to open to the Southeast Asia,Yunnan governments at all levels including Yunnan Province,eight bordering cities and their border counties play an important role in cooperating with the neighboring local governments of Myanmar,Laos and Vietnam.This dissertation comprehensively analyzes the cooperation between local governments in Yunnan Province and neighboring areas of Myanmar,Laos and Vietnam by using four research method:case study method,field investigation method,literature historical data analysis method and comparative research method.With the promotion of factors such as the support of the central and local governments,the need for economic development in cross-border regions,the need to connect people in cross-border regions,and the need for security and stability in border areas,the cooperation between local governments in Yunnan Province and neighboring areas of Myanmar,Laos and Vietnam have been continuously promoted.Guided by China's Neighborhood Foreign Policy,Yunnan Province promotes cooperation in humanities,economy,and security with adjacent areas of neighboring countries,focusing on building an amicable,tranquil and prosperous neighborhood.In addition,Yunnan Province has established a local government-led cooperative mechanism with adjacent provinces of neighboring countries.While promoting cross-border government cooperation,cooperative mechanism has been continuously improved.The eight border cities of Yunnan Province are adjacent to different regions of Myanmar,Laos,and Vietnam.In the process of opening to the outside world,they mainly cooperate with neighboring areas.They have created some cooperation highlights in the process of promoting cooperation,helped cross-border local government cooperation and promoted the common development of cross-border regions.The cooperation between Yunnan Province and the adjacent areas of Myanmar,Laos,and Vietnam has achieved many achievements and there are also some problems.The main achievements include the establishment of cooperative mechanisms led by local governments,the establishment of rich and diverse cooperation platforms,the basic formation of"interconnected"infrastructure networks,and the coordinated advancement of economic,people-to-people and security exchanges.The problems are imbalances in cooperative mechanisms among local governments in cross-border regions,imbalances in infrastructure advancement,and shortcomings in economic,humanistic and security cooperation.The implementation of the"Belt and Road"initiative,the guidance of new concept of China'neighboring diplomacy,the continuous implementation of the border opening strategy,the continuous development of Lancang-Mekong cooperation have brought development opportunities for the cooperation between Yunnan Province and the adjacent areas of Myanmar,Laos,and Vietnam.At the same time,the cooperation between Yunnan Province and the adjacent areas of Myanmar,Laos,and Vietnam also faces challenges from economic development,infrastructure construction,border security in the cross-border areas and other major external factors.Cross-border local governments give full play to initiative and groundbreaking,use various advantages to continuously seek cooperation.The willingness to cooperate will be continuously strengthened,the cooperation will be developed in a diversified direction,the cooperative mechanism will be continuously improved and the results of the cooperation will be further highlighted.The cooperation between Yunnan Province and the adjacent areas of Myanmar,Laos,and Vietnam has good development prospects.