China to Further Co-op with Mekong River Countries The Mekong River(known in Tibet as Dza-chu, China as the Lancang River and Thailand as Mae Namkhong), is the longest river in Southeast Asia, running 4, 800 kilometers through six countries(China, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam). It is the

lifeblood of Southeast Asia. The Mekong River Basin contains all the streams and rivers that flow into the Mekong River. From its headwaters thousands of meters high on the Tibetan Plateau, it flows through six distinct geographical regions, each with characteristic features of elevation, topography( 地形学 ) and land cover.

The Mekong River has the beautiful natural scenery and rich resources in the world. The most abundant resources are water and biodiversity （生物多样性）. On average, 15, 000 cubic meters of water passes by every second. This water nourishes （滋养） large tracts of forest and wetlands which produce building materials, medicines and food, provides habitats for thousands of species of plants and animals and supports an inland capture fishery with an estimated commercial value of US billion

dollars per year. Known mineral resources include tin, copper, iron ore, natural gas, potash and gem stones. The river has become a tourist route and major transport channel for oil, production and other commodities between China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In the past five years, the river has carried up to two million tons of goods, representing trade worth more than 10 billion yuan (1. 28 billion US dollars).

However, because of the worse changes of the climate, Mekong also has witnessed the lowest water level in the past 50 years. The MRC( 湄公河委员会 )Summit has drawn a lot of attention since southwest China and some areas of the four MRCmembers—Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam— have been suffering severe drought since Here, the annual dry season started much earlier than usual,

dropping the Mekong to its lowest in decades and affecting millions of people living along the river. “We pump drinking water from the Mekong River but now the water level is extremely low. Agriculture is bad and another impact is on fishing. There are no fish, ” one farmer said.

Many villagers suspect China’s dams upstream, which contributes to the record low water level. The dams have been built to generate electricity. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao said that China is ready to strengthen the cooperation with the downstream Mekong countries in drought-and-flood relief and technique sharing, as well as mutual hydrographic( 水文学 ) experts visit.

He also proposed pushing forward the joint work on disaster relief, including flood reporting and flood /drought relief training; cooperating and exchanging on hydropower development, as well as arranging more technique sharing and mutual visits of the related officials and experts. The runoff of the Mekong River mainly comes from the middle- and-lower Mekong basin, amounting to percent. He

also quoted a statement by MRC last month as saying that the water level decline of the Lancang-Mekong main stem is contributed by an early ending of rain season in 2009, a low monsoon （季候风） rainfall and an extreme lack of dry- season rainfall.

“China shares common interests with the lower Mekong states for the protection of Mekong basin water resources, its development and usage. As a responsible nation situated in the upstream of the Lancang-Mekong basin, China will never act in a manner that will harm the interests of those nations at the downstream. The Mekong River is also our home and we love her. ”