Officials representing 12 municipalities of the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou held their fourth cooperation and development summit, with a theme relating to increasing cooperation and aiming for development, in Bijie city, Guizhou province on Sept 17, lijiang.cn reported.

Representatives from the 12 municipalities, including Bijie, Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Liupanshui and Yibin, discussed cooperation in transport infrastructure, investment, cultural tourism, and economy and trade.

He Lianghui, mayor of Lijiang, and officials representing the city's transportation, investment and cooperation bureaus, took part in the summit.

He said in his speech that these 12 municipalities in Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces are geographically connected and share a similar cultural background and common goals.

However, the single-product economy model can no longer meet the requirements of healthy and rapid economic growth, and thus regional economic integration is inevitable.

He also said that the authorities should promote the construction of highways and railways, and the municipalities should deepen cooperation in the fields of clean energy and cultural tourism.

During the summit, representatives from the different cities concluded several agreements to share resources and take advantage of each other's expertise. They also announced that next year's summit would be held in Lijiang.

Edited by Niva Whyman