China, Russia, and Laos on Thursday pledged to enhance cooperation to safeguard the common interests of the three countries, contributing to regional stability, prosperity, and response to risks and challenges, according to Xinhua News Agency’s report today. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith made the remarks during a trilateral meeting in the Lao capital Vientiane, where a series of meetings of foreign ministers of southeastern and eastern Asian countries are being held.

At the trilateral meeting, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, highlighted a world of accelerating changes unseen in a century, with new turbulences ahead, a transforming international system, and a sluggish global economic recovery. He cited rising hegemonism, unilateralism and protectionism, and the undercurrents of "small courtyard and high wall" and "decoupling and breaking chains," coupled with persisting regional conflicts as among pervading destabilizing, uncertain, and unpredictable factors around the world.

The three nations, currently holding leadership roles in key international organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), BRICS, and ASEAN, emphasized the importance of regional cooperation. They plan to promote the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and align it with the development strategies of the Eurasian Economic Union and ASEAN. This collaboration aims to enhance connectivity, particularly through the China-Laos Railway and the China-Europe Express, fostering regional integration and stable supply chains.