Sam Geall 08.11.2018 0 China’s influence on the river is reshaping the environmental and economic future of Southeast Asia, writes Sam Geall A leisure ship floats down the Lancang-Mekong in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, China. The river operated around 60 hydro-dams with another 120 planned or in construction (Image: Luc Forsyth/A River’s Tale) The countries of the Mekong should build a “community of shared future” said China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in December last year. The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Framework (LMC) is “practical and highly effective”, he said . “We do not go after a high-profile ‘talk shop’ but a down-to-earth ‘bulldozer’”. China has cemented its influence over the transboundary Lancang-Mekong river in recent years, a move that has important implications for the riverine environment and the people that rely on its resources. Its primary vehicle, or “bulldozer” is the LMC, which will drive dam and development projects, special economic