澜沧江—湄公河合作首次领导人会议开幕

澜沧江—湄公河合作首次领导人会议开幕

澜沧江——湄公河合作首次领导人会议在海南三亚开幕。此次会议主题是“同饮一江水，命运紧相连”。国务院总理李克强和其他五国的领导人共同探讨合作及地区发展的问题。

The first Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting has opened in Sanya, in South China's Hainan province. The theme is 'shared river, shared future'. Premier Li Keqiang, and top leaders from five other countries were there for discussions on cooperation and regional development.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (3rd R), along with leaders from the other five countries attending the Lancang Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting, participates in the launching ceremony of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, March 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

"Shared River, Shared Future." A fitting theme for the first meeting of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation. All the six countries along the river are tied together and committed to co-exploit the river's resources, building an Asia of a shared destiny.

The leaders came together in China's Sanya on Wednesday to plot the way forward.

Prior to the meeting, Premier Li Keqiang addressed a welcoming banquet. He said institutionalized cooperation will help maintain regional peace and stability; give full play to each country's resources, industries and market; and provide more support to the region's social and economic development.

From establishing economic zones, to constructing expressways and railways, various cooperative projects are underway.

And China has announced it will launch a specific fund for regional cooperation development. The aim is to boost access to trade and investment, and the infrastructure development of the member countries whose economies are lagging behind.

"The most important characteristic of the mechanism is that we are tied with water and we cooperate because of water. How to protect and make good use of the water resource matters to each of us. So we should enhance water resource cooperation and maximize the benefit, and it is our mutual responsibility to protect the river," Ruan Zongze with China Institute of Int'l Studies said.

The LMC as it's called, is a new micro-regional cooperation arrangement. It fits in with China's other initiatives, such as One Belt, One Road and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The project is not only a platform of unity and cooperation. It will also play a greater role in building a community of a shared destiny.