Premier Li Keqiang is on an eight-day official visit to Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Russia.

Li's first stop is Kyrgyzstan, where the primary focus will be on improving industrial productivity. The Belt and Road Initiative as well as security and cultural issues also will be discussed there.

And Li will attend the 15th Shanghai Cooperation Organization prime ministers' meeting. The six members of the SCO are expected to announce 38 measures in areas such as transport, infrastructure-building and technology.

Premier Li's visit to Kazakhstan will be his second in two years. The two countries will sign deals on trade, finance and energy.

The premier will then head to Latvia to attend a meeting of heads of governments from China and 16 central and eastern European countries. The EU will participate in the 16-plus-1 meeting as an observer.

Russia will be the last stop on Li's trip. This is a major high-level exchange between China and Russia. The visit will improve the all-round partnership of strategic coordination.