China’s Participation in the Establishment of Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Corridor

　　Abstract : The establishment of an economic corridor is an important element in the developmental strategy of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) economic cooperation; the core idea is to marry the region’s plans for a transportation corridor with its economic development, that is to say, to convert its transportation corridor into an economic corridor. In June 2008, the inaugural GMS Economic Corridor Forum was held in Kunming. The event marked a step forward in developing the GMS transportation corridor into a mature economic corridor. This paper argues that establishing this economic corridor is an important breakthrough for deepening of GMS economic cooperation in the current context. At the same time, the project has an important role in China’s overall participation in GMS economic cooperation, and certainly will have a strong bearing on China-ASEAN economic cooperation.