The year 2025 marks the tenth anniversary of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, and the period from March 17 to 23 is the eighth "Lancang-Mekong Week". On March 18 the launching ceremony of a series of celebrations for the 2025 "Lancang-Mekong Week" with the theme of "Gathering in Tianfu for a Colorful Lancang-Mekong Region"(Tianfu, cultural name of Sichuan), which are sponsored by the Foreign Affairs Office of Sichuan Province and the Education Department of Sichuan Province, was organized and held at Chengdu University.

Li Huaiqiang, Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Sichuan Province, Sake Nopthaisong, Consul General of the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Chengdu, Lai Yingli, Second-level Inspector of the Education Department of Sichuan Province, and Liu Qiang, Secretary of the Party Committee of Chengdu University, attended the launching ceremony and pressed the start button together, marking the official start of a series of celebrations for the 2025 "Lancang-Mekong Week".

Li Huaiqiang pointed out that since its launch in 2016, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism has become an important platform for China to deepen friendly relations with other five Mekong countries. As an important province in the construction of the "Belt and Road", Sichuan plays an active role in promoting cultural exchanges, educational cooperation and other aspects. It is hoped that this "Lancang-Mekong Week" event will be used as an opportunity to further strengthen educational cooperation, deepen youth interaction, and promote regional cooperation to a new level.

Lai Yingli introduced that educational cooperation is an important part of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation. In recent years, Sichuan Province has made remarkable achievements in promoting the internationalization of higher education and facilitating youth exchanges among Lancang-Mekong countries. She encouraged more young students to participate in international exchanges, enhance mutual understanding, and jointly contribute wisdom and strength to regional development.

Sake Nopthaisong highly praised the achievements of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation and thanked Chengdu University for providing a high-quality learning environment and cultural exchange platform for international students from Lancang-Mekong countries. He expressed hope that more Thai students coming to Sichuan for further studies, and that young students from Sichuan will visit Lancang-Mekong countries to enhance mutual understanding and foster new opportunities for cooperation.

In his speech, Liu Qiang said that Chengdu University will further deepen exchanges and cooperation with colleges and universities in the Lancang-Mekong Region, enrich cooperation forms, broaden cooperation areas, create a more influential international education exchange brand, provide more learning opportunities and development platforms for young students, form an emotional consensus on the mutual understanding and friendship among the people of the six countries, and contribute more to promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Li Zeyang, a Thai student from Chengdu University, delivered a speech as the student representative of Lancang-Mekong countries and shared his study experience in Sichuan. He said there is not only high-quality educational resources and profound cultural deposits in Sichuan, but also warm and friendly teachers and students, making him feel the warmth of home. He hoped that more students from Lancang-Mekong countries would come to Sichuan for study and exchange in the future, so as to promote cultural mutual learning and people-to-people bonds.

These celebration activities for the "Lancang-Mekong Week" will last from March 18 to April, featuring events such as short videos, photography and story exhibitions, Lancang-Mekong Youth Exchange Camp, and cultural exchange activities during the Thai Songkran Festival (Water-Splashing Festival). As part of the Youth Exchange Camp, young people from the five Lancang-Mekong countries will visit Sichuan in groups to engage in Chinese language learning, research and discussion, intangible cultural heritage research, poetry recitation, and visits to cultural scenic spots.

More than 300 people attended the launching ceremony, including consular officers of the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Chengdu, relevant persons in charge of the Foreign Affairs Office of Sichuan Province and the Education Department of Sichuan Province, and representatives of foreign teachers and students of Chengdu University.

Editor: Min Xiuling Executive Editor: Lyu Jia