Lancang-Mekong countries reach consensus on extensive cooperation: Chinese premier

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Myanmar Vice President U Myint Swe take a group photo during the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation leaders' meeting held in Phnom Penh on January 10, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua/Zhang Duo]

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Wednesday that leaders of the Lancang-Mekong countries reached consensus relevant to their shared future at the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting.

Leaders of China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam agreed to deepen cooperation with the principle of equality, inclusiveness and real action, Li, one of the co-chairs of the meeting, said at a press conference held after the event.

The six countries also passed two major documents, namely the Five-year Action Plan (2018-2022) and the Phnom Penh Declaration at this year's meeting.

Discord often arises among countries on the upstream and downstream of a river, Li said, noting that China wants to effectively handle the relationship of such kind and accommodate interests of all countries to build a community with a shared future for the Lancang-Mekong nations.

"China needs a peaceful neighboring environment to facilitate its modernization drive and poverty reduction. We propose to build the LMC mechanism due to the high complementarity between China and the other five countries," he said.

Li reaffirmed China's support for ASEAN, short for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to build a community of shared future, with supplement of the LMC mechanism.

Nearly 200 project plans have been submitted for evaluation at this year's meeting, Li said, adding that all countries involved are obliged to take a lead.

"China is willing to work with all parties to make the Lancang-Mekong into a river of friendship, cooperation and prosperity," he added.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, together with leaders of Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, meet the press after the 2nd Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting in Phnom Penh, January 10, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua/Li Tao]

Initiated by China in 2014, the framework spans connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources management, and agriculture and poverty reduction, benefiting dozens of millions of people living on the waterway.

The first LMC leaders' meeting was held in Sanya of south China's Hainan Province in March 2016, at which the goal of building a community of shared future of peace and prosperity for the LMC countries was endorsed.

The Lancang River originates on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in southwest China. It is called the Mekong River as it flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before emptying into the sea.