Words Can Speak Louder Than Actions: Examining China’s Discourse Approach in Mekong Governance

Abstract

China’s economic ambitions have propelled heated debates surrounding the country’s growing presence in the Mekong area.1 Although China’s influence permeates the subregion, Beijing now has more reasons to worry about the efficacy of its economic strategy there. First, China’s neighborhood environment has deteriorated after Washington’s “rebalance to Asia” at the start of the Obama administration.2 Beijing perceives the U.S.-led Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), formed in 2009, as the United States’ attempt to sow discord between China and the Mekong partners and limit its influence and water resource cooperation.3 Washington’s “free and open Indo-Pacific” strategy led to the upgrading of the LMI into the Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP) in 2020, making this subregion more salient in the strategic competition between the United States and China