The latest news shows that Yunnan has fostered a new model for border opening up and development. The Yunnan-North Laos Cooperation Mechanism will be further improved through annual working group meetings beginning in 2017.

Meanwhile, the Cross-Border Tourism Cooperation Forum at the fourth China-South Asia Expo was successfully held, whereupon the “Kunming Consensus” was reached.

Yunnan is also taking an active role in becoming a part of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Yangtze River Economic Belt. An inter-provincial consultation and cooperation mechanism including provinces along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River —including Sichuan and Guizhou—is now in place. Border financial reform and innovation is also underway. By the end of June, Yunnan’s cross-border RMB investment registered 35.713 billion, up 13% from the year before. Five Yunnan multinational companies have set up an RMB pool fund with an accrued equity of 48.602 billion. Easy access for RMB bank settlement accounts has been piloted via overseas financial institutions. More than 280 non-resident accounts (NRA) designed for foreign institutions have also been opened. Development of financial institutions has been encouraged, and a number of foreign banks have opened branches in Yunnan. Finally, the first overseas RMB investment and loan fund officially launched with a total investment of RMB 4.14 billion.