Dragon Tames the Mekong
China’s Normative Power in Transboundary Water Management
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24076/nsjis.v8i2.2377Keywords:
China, Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, Mekong River, Norm Subsidiarity, Transboundary Water ManagementAbstract
This study investigates China’s motivations for establishing the Lancang–Mekong Cooperation (LMC) through a normative lens, applying Amitav Acharya’s framework of norm subsidiarity. The research employs qualitative and desk review methods to examine China’s efforts to reshape transboundary river governance in the Mekong Region. Findings reveal that China’s refusal to join the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and its rejection of the UN Watercourses Convention (UNWC) are closely tied to its anti-Western sentiment and historical memory of the “Century of Humiliation.” By positioning the LMC as an alternative cooperative framework, China advances new norms that diverge from established international standards. These include asserting its role as the upstream and leading state, maintaining sustainability without hindering economic development, and emphasizing the principle of state sovereignty. Such norms stand in contrast to the obligations outlined in the UNWC and Mekong Agreement, which stress prior consultation, equitable use, and minimizing harm among riparian states. This study contributes to understanding China’s normative strategies in regional governance and offers insights into how emerging powers employ norm subsidiarity to influence international rules.
Downloads
References
Acharya, A. (2011). Norm Subsidiarity and Regional Orders: Sovereignty, Regionalism, and Rule-Making in the Third World. International Studies Quarterly, 55(1), 95–123. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2478.2010.00637.x
ADB. (2021). The Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program Strategic Framework 2030. https://doi.org/10.22617/TCS210042
ASEAN Secretariat. (2019). ASEAN Investment Report 2019. FDI in Services: Focus on Health Care. www.asean.org
Barney, K., Rajah, R., & Cooray, M. (2025, April 13). Trapped in debt: China’s role in Laos’ economic crisis. Lowy Institute. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/trapped-debt-china-s-role-laos-economic-crisis
Barney, K., & Souksakoun, K. (2021). Credit crunch: Chinese infrastructure lending and Lao sovereign debt. Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, 8(1), 94–113. https://doi.org/10.1002/app5.318
Biba, S. (2012). China’s Continuous Dam-building on the Mekong River. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 42(4), 603–628. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472336.2012.712257
Biba, S. (2018). China’s ‘old’ and ‘new’ Mekong River politics: the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation from a comparative benefit-sharing perspective. Water International, 43(5), 622–641. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2018.1474610
Binh, N. T., Thuy Tien, L. Van, Thi Tang, L., Tu, N. M., Dung, T. D., & Quan, N. H. (2022). Resilience of various innovative water management practices: The case of rice production in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta floodplains. Agricultural Water Management, 270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2022.107739
Björkdahl, A. (2002). Norms in international relations: Some conceptual and methodological reflections. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 15(1), 9–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/09557570220126216
Börzel, T. A., & Risse, T. (2012). From Europeanisation to Diffusion: Introduction. West European Politics, 35(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2012.631310
BRICS. (2025, May 6). BRICS Foreign Ministers reiterate need for changes in global governance. BRICS Brasil. https://brics.br/en/news/collabs/collaborative-communication/brics-foreign-ministers-reiterate-need-for-changes-in-global-governance
Brötel, D. (1999). French Economic Imperialism in China 1885–1904/1906. Itinerario, 23(1), 52–61. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0165115300005428
Burchill, S. (2005). Progressive Perspectives: Constructivism. In The National Interest in International Relations Theory (1st ed., pp. 195–197). Palgrave Macmillan.
Busbarat, P., Bunyavejchewin, P., & Suporn, T. (2021). China and Mekong regionalism: A reappraisal of the formation of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation. Asian Politics and Policy, 13(2), 193–211. https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.12575
Cassel, P. (2016). Extraterritoriality in China: What We Know and What We Don’t Know. In R. Bickers & I. Jackson (Eds.), Treaty Ports in Modern China. Law, Land, and Power (pp. 31–42). Routledge. www.routledge.com
Chellaney, B. (2017, October 12). A new front in Asia’s water war. Australian Strategic Policy Institute. https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/a-new-front-in-asias-water-war/
Che, Y., Du, J., Lu, Y., & Tao, Z. (2015). Once an enemy, forever an enemy? The long-run impact of the Japanese invasion of China from 1937 to 1945 on trade and investment. Journal of International Economics, 96(1), 182–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2015.01.001
Chen, H., Rieu-Clarke, A., & Wouters, P. (2013). Exploring China’s transboundary water treaty practice through the prism of the UN Watercourses Convention. Water International, 38(2), 217–230. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2013.782134
China Daily. (2019, March 19). Yunnan’s trade with Mekong River countries tops $12.8b in 2018. China Daily. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201903/19/WS5c909f2aa3106c65c34ef775.html
Farias, D. B. L. (2019). Outlook for the ‘developing country’ category: a paradox of demise and continuity. Third World Quarterly, 40(4), 668–687. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2019.1573139
Fawthrop, T. (2021, December 10). In Laos, a ‘very dangerous dam’ threatens an ancient world heritage site. Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/in-laos-a-very-dangerous-dam-threatens-an-ancient-world-heritage-site/
Finnemore, M., & Sikkink, K. (1998). International Norm Dynamics and Political Change. International Organization, 52(4), 887–917. https://doi.org/10.1162/002081898550789
Global Methane Pledge. (n.d.). About the Global Methane Pledge. Global Methane Pledge. Retrieved August 28, 2025, from https://www.globalmethanepledge.org/#about
GMS. (2017). GMS Economic Corridor. Greater Mekong. Retrieved July 25, 2025, from https://greatermekong.org/content/economic-corridors-in-the-greater-mekong-subregion
Gong, X. (2020). Lancang-Mekong Cooperation. Minilateralism in Institutional Building and Its Implications. In S. Bhubhindar & S. Teo (Eds.), Minilateralism in the Indo-Pacific; The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism, and ASEAN (pp. 57–70). Routledge
Gong, X. (2023, December 1). The Mekong Region Is a Test of China’s Global Development and Security Model. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2023/12/the-mekong-region-is-a-test-of-chinas-global-development-and-security-model?lang=en
Gordon, D. M. (2006). Historiographical Essay the China-Japan War, 1931-1945. The Journal of Military History, 70(1), 137–2.
Green, M. A. (2023, June 20). China Still Gets “Developing Nation” Preferential Treatment. Wilson Center.
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/china-still-gets-developing-nation-preferential-treatment
Guerin, B., Janta, B., & Van Gorp, A. (2018). Desk-based Research and Literature Review. In J. Hofman & A. Sutherland (Eds.), Evaluating Interventions that Prevent or Counter Violent Extremism (pp. 63–68). RAND Corporation. www.randeurope.org
Guest, G., Namey, E. E., & Mitchell, M. L. (2013). Collecting Qualitative Data: a Field Manual for Applied Research. SAGE.
Gurowitz, A. (1999). Mobilizing International Norms: Domestic Actors, Immigrants, and the Japanese State. World Politics, 51(3), 413–445. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25054085
Hall, N., & Swain, A. (2023, August 14). Water in a Multipolar World: China and the Issue of Water Management. Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://www.csis.org/analysis/water-multipolar-world-china-and-issue-water-management
Hamlin, T. (2008, May 2). Commercial Transportation on the Mekong River. Stimson Center. https://www.stimson.org/2008/commercial-transportation-mekong-river/
Hess, C. A. (2010). Keeping the Past Alive. The Use of History in China’s Foreign Relations. In S. Breslin (Ed.), Handbook of China’s International Relations (pp. 47–54). Routledge. https://archive.org/details/nandbookofchinasO000unse
Huang, Y. (2015, January 24). China, Japan, and the 21 Demands. The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2015/01/china-japan-and-the-21-demands/
Hunt, L. (2016). What Is the Value of the Mekong River? The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2016/01/what-is-the-value-of-the-mekong-river/
Ibrahim, I. A. (2020). Water governance in the Mekong after the Watercourses Convention 35th ratification: Multilateral or bilateral approach? International Journal of Water Resources Development, 36(1), 200–220. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2019.1636769
International Energy Agency. (n.d.). Energy system of China. IEA. Retrieved September 15, 2025, from https://www.iea.org/countries/china/renewables
Junlin, R., Ziqian, P., & Xue, P. (2021). New transboundary water resources cooperation for Greater Mekong Subregion: The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation. Water Policy, 23(3), 684–699. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2021.198
Krahl, T., & Dosch, J. (2018). The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) – Infrastructure Development and the Prospects for the Emergence of a Security Community. In H. Loewen & A. Zorob (Eds.), Initiatives of Regional Integration in Asia in Comparative Perspective Concepts, Contents and Prospects (Vol. 14, pp. 83–95). Springer. http://www.springer.com/series/7716
Krasner, S. D. (1982). Structural Causes and Regime Consequences: Regimes as Intervening Variables. International Organization, 36(2), 185–205. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2706520
Kuenzer, C., Campbell, I., Roch, M., Leinenkugel, P., Tuan, V. Q., & Dech, S. (2013). Understanding the impact of hydropower developments in the context of upstream-downstream relations in the Mekong river basin. Sustainability Science, 8(4), 565–584. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-012-0195-z
LMC. (2016a, March 23). Address by H.E. Li Keqiang Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China at the First Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting. LMC. https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/zy/jj/2016zt/lkqcxboaoyzlt2016nnh/202406/t20240606_11381089.html
LMC. (2016b, March 23). Sanya Declaration of the First Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Leaders’ Meeting. Lancang-Mekong Cooperation. http://www.lmcchina.org/eng/2016-03/23/content_41449864.html
LMC. (2017, December 14). 3+5 Cooperation Framework. Lancang-Mekong Cooperation. http://www.lmcchina.org/eng/2017-12/14/content_41449855.html
LMC. (2018, January 11). Phnom Penh Declaration of the Second Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting. Press and Quick Reaction Unit Government of Cambodia. https://pressocm.gov.kh/en/archives/21699
LMC. (2020a, August 24). Lancang-Mekong Cooperation brings benefits, opportunities to the region. LMC. http://www.lmcchina.org/eng/2020-08/24/content_41451153.html
LMC. (2020b, August 25). Full text of Vientiane Declaration of the Third Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Leaders’ Meeting. LMC. http://www.lmcchina.org/eng/2020-08/25/content_41449868.html
LMEC Center. (n.d.). Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation. Retrieved September 2, 2025, from http://en.lmec.org.cn/about_us/our_mission/201711/P020230109513644009241.pdf
Ma, S.-Y. (2010). Third World studies, development studies and post-communist studies: Definitions, distance and dynamism. Third World Quarterly, 19(3), 339–358. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/01436599814280
MOFA China. (2016, March 23). Address by H.E. Li Keqiang Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China at the First Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting.
MOFA China. (2016, March 23). Address by H.E. Li Keqiang Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China at the First Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting. MOFA China. https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/zy/jj/2016zt/lkqcxboaoyzlt2016nnh/202406/t20240606_11381089.html#:~:text=%2D%2D%20Focus%20on%20concrete%20projects,projects%20and%20monitor%20cooperation%20progress
MRC. (n.d.-a). Agriculture and Irrigation. Mekong River Commission. Retrieved June 25, 2025, from https://www.mrcmekong.org/agriculture-and-irrigation/
MRC. (n.d.-b). PNPCA Prior Consultations. Mekong River Commission. Retrieved July 4, 2025 from https://www.mrcmekong.org/news_and_events_cat/pnpca-prior-consultations/
MRC. (2017). Pak Beng Hydropower Project. Retrieved September 24, 2025, from https://www.mrcmekong.org/news_and_events/pak-beng-hydropower-project/
MRC. (1995). Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin.
MRC Secretariat. (2020). Understanding the 1995 Mekong Agreement and the Five MRC Procedures: A Handbook. www.mrcmekong.org
Nhan, N. H., & Cao, N. B. (2019). Damming the Mekong: Impacts in Vietnam and Solutions. In Coasts and Estuaries: The Future (pp. 321–340). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-814003-1.00019-8
OECD. (2025, June 11). Development Co-operation Profiles: Thailand. OECD. https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/development-co-operation-profiles_04b376d7-en/thailand_701f6430-en.html
Pdr, L., & Nam, V. (2017). Transboundary Water Resources Management Issues In the Sesan and Srepok River Basins of Cambodia and Viet Nam. www.mrcmekong.org
Po, S., & Primiano, C. B. (2021). Explaining China’s Lancang-Mekong cooperation as an institutional balancing strategy: dragon guarding the water. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 75(3), 323–340. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357718.2021.1893266
Po, S., & Sims, K. (2022). The Myth of Non-interference: Chinese Foreign Policy in Cambodia. Asian Studies Review, 46(1), 36–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2021.1887813
Raymond, G. A. (1997). Neutrality Norms and the Balance of Power. Cooperation and Conflict, 32(2), 123–146.
Rieu-Clarke, A. (2014). Notification and consultation procedures under the mekong agreement: Insights from the Xayaburi Controversy. In Asian Journal of International Law (Vol. 5, Issue 1, pp. 143–175). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2044251314000022
Roberts, J. A. G. (1999). A History of China. In A History of China. Macmillan Education UK. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-27704-9
Salman, S. M. A. (2013). Misconception Regarding the Interpretation of the UN Watercourse Convention. In F. R. Loures & A. Rieu-Clarke (Eds.), The UN Watercourses Convention in Force. Strengthening International Law for Transboundary Water Management (1st ed., pp. 28–35).
Schmeier, S. (2020). Prior notification of planned measures: A response to the no-harm dilemma? International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 20(4), 683–698. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-020-09505-4
Sims, K. (2021). LAO PDR In 2020: Pandemic, Debt, and Resource Extraction. Southeast Asian Affairs, 141–165. https://doi.org/10.2307/27075080
Soukhaphon, A., Baird, I. G., & Hogan, Z. S. (2021). The impacts of hydropower dams in the mekong river basin: A review. Water, 13(3), 2–8. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13030265
Sreynou, K., & Rotha, H. (2020). Cambodia Should Pay More Attention Towards the Mekong River: A Youth Perspective. https://cicp.org.kh/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/CICP_Op-Ed_Series_Kong_Sreynou_and_Him_Rotha_Cambodia_should_pay_attention_towards_Mekong_River_from_Youth-2.pdf
Starr, B., & Cole, D. (2022, July 25). Top US general says China’s military has become more aggressive to US over last 5 years. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/25/politics/mark-milley-china-aggression
State Council. (2023, March 24). Trade between China, Mekong countries hits 416.7 bln USD in 2022. State Council. https://english.www.gov.cn/news/internationalexchanges/202303/24/content_WS641d00dcc6d0f528699dc094.html
Tan, D. (2014). The Greater Mekong Subregion programme: reflections for a renewed paradigm of regionalism. Asia Europe Journal, 12(4), 383–399. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10308-014-0389-3
Textor, C. (2025a, June 23). Annual FDI flows from China to Vietnam 2013-2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/720408/china-outward-fdi-flows-to-vietnam/
Textor, C. (2025b, July 10). Annual FDI flows from China to Thailand 2013-2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/720401/china-outward-fdi-flows-to-thailand/
UN DESA. (2023). World Economic Situation and Prospects.
UNECE. (2004). The 1992 UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes.
Urban, F., Siciliano, G., & Nordensvard, J. (2018). China’s dam-builders: their role in transboundary river management in South-East Asia. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 34(5), 747–770. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2017.1329138
Weinhardt, C., Petry, J., & Professor, A. (2024). Contesting China’s Developing Country Status: Geoeconomics and the Public-Private Divide in Global Economic Governance. The Chinese Journal of International Politics, 17(1), 48–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290
Williams, J. M. (2020). The Hydropower Myth. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(12), 12882–12888. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04657-6
Wolf-Phillips, L. (1987). Why “Third World”?: Origin, Definition and Usage. Third World Quarterly, 9, 1311–1327. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3991655
World Bank. (n.d.). The World Bank In China. World Bank. Retrieved August 28, 2025, from https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview
Xing, W. (2017). Lancang-mekong river cooperation and trans-boundary water governance: A Chinese perspective. China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies, 3(3), 377–393. https://doi.org/10.1142/S2377740017500233
Xinhua. (2017, October 9). Cambodia to launch secretariat for Lancang-Mekong Cooperation. Xinhua Net. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-10/09/c_136667411.htm
Xinhua. (2023, March 13). Full text of Xi Jinping’s speech at first session of 14th NPC. Xinhua. https://english.news.cn/20230314/38b6491926ea4c6b82bf7d58d0518a48/c.html
Xuan Dung, P. (2025). Vietnam’s Response to Controversial Mekong Projects in China, Laos, and Cambodia.
Zhou, M. (2021, September 28). For China, the history that matters is still the ‘century of humiliation.’ South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3150233/china-history-matters-still-century-humiliation
Government Legislation/Regulation/Legal Source
PRC Is Not a Developing Country Act (2023). https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/1107/text
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2018 Ayu Heryati Naqsabandiyah
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
