Premier Li Keqiang urged enhancing cooperation between eastern and western regions of China in fighting poverty and continuing to pay attention to extremely poor areas, in an instruction to a symposium on Aug 29.

He also urged targeted help to poor families, taking effective measures and mobilizing participation from various social sectors, to lift them out of poverty.

At the symposium in Beijing, attendees exchanged ideas on east-west cooperation on that issue.

The Premier said he appreciated the east-west cooperation in industrial development, investment, talents and technology in the past year.

Vice-Premier Wang Yang attended the symposium. He said the fields of east-west cooperation should be expanded and both sides should achieve a win-win cooperation. More resources, including money, projects and talents, should be put into extremely poor areas.

He also said performance appraisal should be strengthened. During the cooperation period, the performance of the partners on each side should be evaluated every year.