KUNMING, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The 2019 Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Exposition opened Thursday in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, aiming at boosting sub-regional trade and investment.
More than 2,000 merchants from home and abroad are expected to attend the five-day event, which has set up 1,800 booths in five exhibition halls, covering investment and trade, culture and tourism, featured commodities of Lancang-Mekong countries and other areas.
The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Dianchi Forum was held on the same day, focusing on cross-border economic cooperation and the construction of a pilot free trade zone.
It also consists of several parallel sessions including the China-Laos and China-Cambodia investment symposiums, according to the organizer.
Lu Pengqi, vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said such activities will help deepen economic and trade cooperation between Lancang-Mekong countries.
The LMC is a sub-regional cooperation mechanism serving the common needs of the six countries along the Mekong River, including China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
ASEAN is now China's second-largest trading partner, with two-way trade hitting 291.9 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of 2019 and an estimated 600 billion U.S. dollars for the whole year.
The thriving LMC injects vigor into the bond between China and ASEAN, said Guo Chuanwei who oversees the Trade and Investment Division under ASEAN-China Centre.
