Losses caused by flooding in Mekong River countries have been greatly reduced thanks to hydrological data from China, the Mekong River Commission says in a letter to the hydrological bureau of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The letter says that thanks to China's adequate and timely information, four countries along the river -- Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam -- succeeded in taking flood prevention measures.

Under an agreement signed by China's Ministry of Water Resources and the Mekong River Commission on April 1 in Pnom-penh, capital of Cambodia, China will offer data on water levels of the Mekong as well as the rainfall in the river valley to the commission every day during the flood season from June 15 to October 15 until 2006.

The Mekong River's upper reaches extend 2,161 km into China, where it is known as the Lancang River. It also winds through Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

With a total length of 4,880 km, the river rises in Tanggula Mountains in west China's Qinghai Province and flows into the South China Sea.

Established in 1995, the Mekong River Commission is a non-governmental organization with the member countries of Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Enditem

(Xinhua News Agency June 30, 2002)