The Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences has issued a statement saying that China plans to help countries in the Lancang-Mekong region tap their banana production potential. Academy vice-president Xie Jianghui said the banana industry has played a bigger role in recent years in countries along the river, which is known as the Lancang in China and the Mekong outside its borders.

The Lancang is the part of the Mekong that flows through China. Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand are five downstream countries of the Mekong River. China has begun working on creating more cooperation in the area.

China is the world's second-biggest producer and consumer of bananas and was estimated to have produced 9.9 million tons last year. It also imported some 3 million tons from various countries, including the Philippines and Ecuador.