Kunming (CNS) -- The Mekong waterway has carried 4,500 tons of goods into and out of southwest China's Yunnan Province since the official resumption of shipping was ordered on December 10, Fu Zhiming, head of the provincial shipping administration, told CNS during an exclusive interview on Thursday.
The Mekong River flows through China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, which uniquely positions it as the "golden waterway" of regional trade development. Legal traffic has been compromised by extreme local poverty and rampant drug smuggling activity that culminated in the murder of 13 Chinese in early October, the latest of many similar tragic cases.
Legitimate economic and social exchanges within the region have been seriously endangered, so to assure shipping safety and put a stop to violent killings, China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand signed a joint commitment in late November to form a special office to enforce security regulations. It went into operation on December 9.
China will continue defending the waterway and ensure it serves its "golden" mission for the sake of regional prosperity, the official spokesperson asserted.
