by Zhan Yifan
The six countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) share more than a river: climate risks, market volatility, food-safety pressures and the hardships faced by smallholder farmers. In September, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the GMS Working Group on Agriculture brought together agriculture ministries and development partners in Bangkok under the theme "Regional Public Goods: Unlocking the Potential for the Sustainable Growth of the GMS Agrifood Sector." One question kept recurring: how can cooperation move beyond scattered pilot projects and deliver durable regional solutions?
A benefit becomes a regional public good when it crosses national borders, when regional coordination achieves more than any country could accomplish alone, and when no country is excluded from enjoying it. Agriculture is full of such public goods: shared water and soil health, interoperable digital traceability systems, electronic certification, climate early-warning systems and harmonized sanitary and phytosanitary arrangements. None can be built by one country alone, and the more countries participate, the greater their value.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the meeting was seeing countries with very different starting points advance a common agenda and learn from one another. Vietnam has made low-emission agriculture its vision, building on its one million hectares program for high-quality, low-emission rice production and aiming to cut emissions across all crops by at least 50 percent by 2050, compared with the 2030 baseline. Thailand is building practical trade foundations through its National Single Window, digital traceability and green lanes, arguing that regional systems should connect existing national platforms rather than build new ones. Laos is prioritizing digital sanitary and phytosanitary systems, while Cambodia is promoting inclusive digital public goods for smallholder farmers.
China's contribution to this shared agenda is rooted in its own practice. It has proposed making agriculture more technology-driven, eco-friendly, quality-focused and brand-oriented, and stands ready to share its experience.
On the ground, cooperation is already delivering results. The China-Laos Railway's Lancang-Mekong Express cold-chain train links Vientiane and Kunming in some 30 hours, reducing transport loss of Lao tropical fruits. China and Thailand mutually recognize each other's certifications: China recognizes Thailand's Good Agricultural Practice, while Thailand recognizes China's organic certification. This has shortened customs clearance times for Thai fruit by 40 percent and cut testing fees by 30 percent. With Myanmar, China has built a "rice-fish-duck" symbiosis demonstration zone that raises farmers' incomes while improving soil health. China has also proposed a GMS mutual recognition list for agrifood quality and safety, along with technical assistance on standards.
These approaches are not competing alternatives; they are complementary pieces of the same puzzle. The China-Thailand durian traceability pilot, which began as an Asian Development Bank-supported demonstration project and has since moved towards market-driven operation, shows that a tangible, industry-chain-driven initiative can deliver real regional benefits. The message is clear: regional public goods are most persuasive when they grow out of real industry chains and deliver visible benefits, with every country able to contribute and learn.
Yet enthusiasm for the concept outruns our ability to deliver. Four hurdles stand out: pilot projects often fade when funding ends; data remain fragmented; standardization takes time, trust and political will; and monitoring, reporting and verification, as well as certification remain too costly for smallholder farmers.
The way forward is to act pragmatically, step by step. Start where the value is visible. Begin with problems that affect everyone, such as congested border crossings and duplicate testing, and deliver quick results. Prioritize interoperability over new platforms: investing in connecting existing systems yields better returns than building new infrastructure. Design for sustainability from day one by embedding pilot projects in local institutions and settle funding and exit arrangements in advance. Make governance inclusive, so that smallholders, women and young people can participate and share in the benefits.
Regional public goods provide the GMS with a good framework for cooperation, but a framework alone does not guarantee results. The region has the aspirations, experience and mutual trust needed to turn this framework into shared facilities, data and benefits. China is willing to contribute its experience and learn from the diverse practices of its neighbors. On the banks of the Mekong, as in agriculture itself, what we build together goes further than what each of us can build alone.
Editor's note: The author is a research assistant at the Foreign Economic Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xinhua News Agency.
