The report sparked numerous articles in regional and international news outlets,,,, think tanks, and online public discussion.
Yi said China would help its downstream neighbors cope with a prolonged drought by releasing more water from its dams on the Mekong River, adding that it would also consider sharing hydrological information in future. In response, Wang said China noted there's drought on the downstream of Mekong River and has actively increased water discharge to it to help cope with the situation. His message: We feel your pain.
Last year, while parts of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and southern Vietnam experienced a devastating drought, China held abundant water on the Upper Mekong River … BANGKOK — As China was stricken by the coronavirus in late February, its foreign minister addressed a concerned crowd in Laos, where farmers and fishers across the Mekong River region were contending with the worst drought in living memory. China — which has no formal water treaties with the lower Mekong countries — promised to cooperate on management of the river and also to investigate the causes of last year’s record drought. A recent report by Eyes on Earth (EoE) highlighted the critical issue of China’s hydropower development and dam operation on the Lancang (upper Mekong) River and connected it to the ongoing drought in the lower Mekong basin. The foreign minister, Wang Yi, said China was also suffering from arid conditions that were sucking water … China's Mekong River dams held back large amounts of water during a damaging drought in downstream countries last year despite China having higher-than-average water levels upstream, a U.S. research company said in a study. China's dams exacerbated extreme drought in lower Mekong: Study.
China's government disputed the findings, saying there was low rainfall Critics say system of dams that China built deprived millions of people from Southeast Asia of their livelihood.