It discusses the important role of medical and health cooperation in China's peripheral diplomacy and regional governance, analyzing issues such as uneven distribution of medical resources, weak grassroots capabilities, and high costs of cross-border collaboration in the Mekong region, particularly the contradiction between high incidence of cataracts and insufficient supply of ophthalmic services. It introduces the "Brightness Journey" project initiated by China in 2016 under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation framework, which provides free sight-restoring surgeries for impoverished patients and has gradually promoted its regular development. It elaborates on the project's characteristics of small investment, quick results, and improvement of people's livelihoods, which align with the requirements of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation for being "tangible and accessible" and "heart-to-heart connectivity," representing an important practice in addressing the insufficient supply of regional health public goods.

I. Introduction of the Research Question

It reviews four research dimensions in academic circles regarding China's participation in regional health governance: the construction of a global community of health for all, policy mechanisms and cooperation models, diplomatic soft power and geopolitics, and the application of public goods theory. It points out that existing research tends to focus on macro-level policy analysis while paying insufficient attention to "small yet beautiful" projects. It then proposes to systematically examine the supply subjects, content, resource mobilization, and funding sources of the "Brightness Journey" project in the Mekong region from the perspective of regional public goods theory, analyzing its characteristics of non-excludability, non-rivalry, and externalities, and evaluating its effectiveness and shortcomings to reveal China's role in regional health governance and summarize governance experience.

II. Concepts, Theories, and Practices of Regional Public Goods

It systematically reviews the theoretical lineage and practical application of regional public goods. At the conceptual level, starting from the three characteristics of public goods proposed by Samuelson, it explains how international public goods fall into supply shortage dilemmas due to hegemonic supply difficulties and "free-rider" problems, leading to the concept of regional public goods—whose benefits are limited to specific geographic regions, with advantages including clear cost-sharing, higher supply efficiency, and greater ease in overcoming collective action dilemmas. In terms of theoretical evolution, it reviews the academic journey of this field from Cook and Sachs' advocacy for regional public goods in development assistance in 1999, to the Swedish expert group's systematic study of theoretical frameworks in 2000, to its incorporation into the international development agenda in the 21st century. It also reviews how domestic academia, since scholars such as Fan Yongming introduced the concept, has combined Asian practices to emphasize sovereign equality and consensus through consultation, and focused on the parallel of major power leadership and cooperative supply. In the practical dimension, it comprehensively presents China's experience in supplying public goods in three areas with Southeast Asia and the Mekong region: political security, sustainable economic development, and social and cultural affairs, covering specific forms such as high-level dialogue mechanisms, joint law enforcement, infectious disease prevention and control, infrastructure connectivity, trade and investment integration, and cross-border medical cooperation. It notes that the "Brightness Journey" project, as a "small yet beautiful" case focusing on eye health services, achieves direct benefits for vulnerable groups at relatively low cost, enhances efficiency through multi-stakeholder collaborative supply, effectively compensates for the shortcomings of macro-projects in terms of public获得感, and demonstrates the unique value of regional public goods in promoting "heart-to-heart connectivity."

III. Origin and Development of the "Brightness Journey" Project in the Mekong Region

It traces the evolution of the "Brightness Journey" project in the Mekong region from bilateral cooperation beginnings to multilateral institutional development. Between 2009 and 2015, the project conducted bilateral medical assistance in Vietnam, Myanmar, and other countries through government and civil channels. After being incorporated into the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation framework in 2016, it entered an institutionalized stage, with initial activities covering Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. From 2017 to 2019, under high-level attention, the project expanded its functions to include eye health examinations, eyeglass provision for youth, and personnel training, and extended to Vietnam. During 2020-2021, amid the pandemic, the project shifted to medical material assistance and emergency capacity building, maintaining cooperative ties through online training. Since 2022, the project has demonstrated characteristics of diversified participation and innovative supply, with social organizations joining to form a socialized pattern, while promoting the cultivation of local doctors' capabilities to achieve a "self-generating" transformation, and enhancing implementation efficiency through new models such as mobile ophthalmic surgery vehicles.

IV. Current Status and Characteristics of the "Brightness Journey" Project in the Mekong Region

The current status and characteristics of the "Brightness Journey" project in the Mekong Region. In terms of current status, the project presents four development dimensions: supply subjects have expanded from single charitable institutions to a diversified pattern involving central and local governments, official and civil sectors, and domestic and overseas participation; supply content has expanded from sight-restoring surgeries to comprehensive eye health services covering vision screening, free eyeglass provision, youth myopia prevention and control, talent training, and health education; resource mobilization has formed a networked collaboration mechanism across departments, regions, and countries, with doctors from multiple countries beginning to participate; funding sources have developed from early single channels of charitable organizations to diversified structures including government finance, social fundraising, and donations from foundations and enterprises. In terms of characteristics, the project has three attributes: non-excludability is reflected in open institutional design but with screening standards and geographic limitations in implementation; non-rivalry is demonstrated through significant demonstration effects and public revenue capabilities, but constrained by objective upper limits of medical resources; positive externalities extend to improvements in regional health benefits, local medical capacity building, accumulation of regional health governance experience, and response to China-ASEAN community building.

V. Effectiveness and Shortcomings of the "Brightness Journey" Project in the Mekong Region

It analyzes the implementation effectiveness and existing problems of the "Brightness Journey" project in the Mekong region. In terms of effectiveness, the project first achieved significant cross-border diagnosis and treatment benefits, completing over 27,000 free cataract surgeries with a 100% success rate, with over 98% of patients showing significant vision improvement, and total investment exceeding 10 million US dollars, effectively alleviating poverty pressure on assisted families. Second, the project promoted regional medical coordination through material assistance and technical training, providing Cambodia with medical equipment worth over 18 million yuan, assisting in establishing postoperative follow-up systems, more than doubling surgical efficiency at some hospitals, and gradually shifting toward institutionalized supply models to cultivate "irremovable" local medical teams. Third, the project produced positive social and cultural effects, with patients who regained sight restoring their labor capacity, receiving high recognition from Mekong country governments, improving perceptions among some populations previously holding reservations toward China, and laying a social foundation for regional political mutual trust.

In terms of shortcomings, the project faces four major challenges: First, the "free-rider" phenomenon is serious, with China bearing main funding and core medical forces, imbalanced cost-sharing, and sustainability constrained by changes in China's domestic policies. Second, there is a lack of multilateral coordination mechanisms, relying on bilateral consultations and political will, with countries failing to form unified institutional arrangements, limiting operational efficiency. Third, local medical foundations are weak, the "flying team" model is difficult to sustain, postoperative follow-up rates are below 30%, and hardware gaps and long talent cultivation cycles constrain achievement absorption. Fourth, there is structural imbalance in beneficiary groups, with projects concentrated in areas with convenient transportation, limited coverage in remote mountainous areas, and information asymmetry and lack of eye health knowledge preventing the poorest groups from benefiting.

VI. Future Directions for the "Brightness Journey" Project in the Mekong Region

It analyzes the constraints facing the "Brightness Journey" project in the Mekong region, including "free-riding," lack of multilateral coordination mechanisms, weak medical foundations, and imbalanced beneficiary groups, and proposes four development directions: First, improve multilateral coordination mechanisms, promote "common but differentiated responsibilities" sharing among regional countries under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation framework, and establish regional ophthalmic databases and unified standards. Second, expand coverage, extend geographic spatial services through mobile surgery vehicles and temporary diagnosis points, and improve information accessibility through self-media and other channels. Third, promote sustainable supply, establish grassroots training networks with talent cultivation at the core, promote the inclusion of eye health services in national public health planning, and achieve transformation from "blood transfusion" to "blood generation." Fourth, enhance project visibility, tell the "Brightness Journey" story well through multilingual communication and individual narratives, and lay a social foundation for building the Lancang-Mekong health community.

VII. Conclusion

It evaluates the implementation effectiveness and limitations of the "Brightness Journey" project in the Mekong region, noting its positive role in improving the health of impoverished patients and promoting cultural exchanges, while revealing issues of cost-sharing, coordination mechanisms, capacity building, and coverage balance. From the perspective of regional public goods theory, it explains the project's supply efficiency, multi-stakeholder collaboration model, and "heart-to-heart connectivity" function, emphasizing its theoretical value and demonstration significance as a Chinese practice in participating in regional health public goods supply.