Reuters| Bangkok | Thailand
China on Thursday signed an agreement with the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to share year-round data on the flow of its portion of the vital waterway amid concern that Chinese dams may be causing drought downstream in Southeast Asia. A push for more data from China's portion of the Mekong River - which Beijing calls the Lancang River - intensified after U.S. government criticism that 11 Chinese dams were "hoarding" water and hurting livelihoods downstream, an accusation Beijing denies.
"This agreement is a landmark in the history of China-MRC cooperation," An Pich Hatda, the MRC Secretariat Chief Executive Officer, said after at a virtual meeting on Thursday. Two years of record drought on the 4,350-km (2,700-mile) Mekong River have been devastating for many the 60 million people who depend on it for fishing and farming. (Writing by Kay Johnson Editing by Ed Davies)
Also Read: 700-year-old Chinese scroll sells for $41.8M in Hong Kong
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
{{#Source}}{{Source}}{{/Source}}{{#IsBlog}}
{{Disclaimer}}
{{/Disclaimer}}