Premier Li Keqiang consults with Yuan Longping (left), known as "the father of hybrid rice", during an exhibition on Lancang-Mekong cooperation in Sanya, Hainan province, on Wednesday. [China Daily]

China and five other countries along the Lancang-Mekong River convened in Sanya, Hainan province, on Wednesday and reached an agreement to deepen cooperation and build a comprehensive connectivity network covering railways, highways, waterways, ports and aviation.

China also promised 10 billion yuan ($1.54 billion) in preferential loans and a credit line of $10 billion to support infrastructure and production capacity projects in cooperation with the countries.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced the loans and the agreement at the first meeting of the leaders from the six countries along the river.

The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting also discussed the use of water resources, and China vowed to take measures to support improvement of living conditions in downstream areas along the river.

The Mekong River, whose upper part is known in China as the Lancang River, is an important water source for the five countries on the Indochinese Peninsula — Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam — and it nourishes a population of 326 million.

Beijing announced last week that it will provide an emergency water supply through April 10 to countries along the river to deal with drought.

Premier Li announced that China will use $200 million from its South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund to help the five nations to realize the targets set in the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China also will provide $300 million to support small and medium-sized cooperation projects proposed by the six countries.

Additionally, it will set up a Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation center and an environmental cooperation center to promote green development.

Li suggested holding leaders' meetings every two years, foreign ministers' meetings every year and occasional meetings of high-ranking officials and working teams.

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