Premier Li Keqiang on March 22 welcomed leaders who came to attend the first Lancang-Mekong leaders’ meeting in Sanya, Hainan province.

The Premier shook hands with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing, Myanmar’s Vice President Sai Mauk Kham and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh. They also took a group photo to mark the occasion.

In his speech delivered afterwards, Premier Li said that finally the Lancang-Mekong cooperation mechanism is reality. The group approved some cooperation deals: political security, economy and sustainable development, social and humanism were determined to be the three pillars; interconnection, production capacity, cross-border economy, water agriculture and poverty alleviation are the five prior cooperation fields. The group researched and proposed almost 100 projects.

It goes with the trend of the age and meets people’s demand to further enhance mutual trust, cooperation, communication and development, Premier Li said. So there is great potential for the cooperation, he said.

Premier Li said that the Lancang-Mekong cooperation will be helpful to maintain regional peace and stability. Resources, industries and markets in these countries are complementary to each other. The cooperation among the six countries will provide strong support and a wide stage for economic and social development in this region. It will also promote relations between China and ASEAN countries.

China is willing to work together with leaders from Lancang-Mekong countries to draw a cooperative blueprint and take the first step for the cooperation under the theme of “Shared River, Shared Future”.

In November 2014, Premier Li Keqiang proposed building the Lancang-Mekong River Dialogue and Cooperation Mechanism under the framework of China-ASEAN (10+1) at the 17th China-ASEAN leaders’ meeting. The first Lancang-Mekong Cooperation leaders’ meeting will be held on March 23 in China’s southern city of Sanya.