Can China Turn Its Border Counties into Green and Inclusive Gateways to the Greater Mekong?

China’s border counties could become important centres of regional trade, jobs and sustainable urban development, but infrastructure alone will not deliver that transformation. An Asian Development Bank report on Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province finds that cooperation with Vietnam, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar can strengthen local economies. However, population decline, limited public services, climate threats and weak municipal finances could undermine progress unless governments adopt a more balanced approach. China’s urbanization rate increased from 17.9% in 1978 to 65.2% in 2022, while its urban population expanded from 172 million to 921 million. This shift supported…