Premier Li arrives in Cambodia for second LMC leaders' meeting, official visit

PHNOM PENH- Premier Li Keqiang arrived Wednesday for the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting and an official visit to Cambodia.

"I look forward to joining my colleagues in Phnom Penh for the second LMC leaders' meeting and to discussing with them future action plans of cooperation in water conservancy, education, culture, youth and many other areas," Li said in a signed article published on Khmer Times, a leading English-language newspaper in Cambodia, ahead of his visit.

"I am confident that these efforts will lead to even more fruitful outcomes," added the premier, who will co-chair the leaders' meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen.

During the meeting, leaders of the six LMC countries -- China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam -- will review the progress made through the sub-regional cooperation mechanism and discuss the future of cooperation, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.

Initiated by China in 2014, the LMC mechanism focuses on five priority areas of cooperation: connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources management, as well as agriculture and poverty reduction.

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.

As to the official visit, which comes as the two neighbors are poised to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relations this year, Li will meet with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, and hold talks with Hun Sen to promote bilateral cooperation.

"It is estimated that China has built more bridges and more roads in Cambodia than any other country," the Chinese premier said in his article. "In my view, the best bridge China has built is the bridge of friendship between our peoples, and the best road is the road leading toward common development."

"The very purpose of my visit is to continue building that bridge and that road," he said.