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Chinese Premier¹ Wen Jiabao leaves for Laos, at the end of the week, to take part in a Southeast Asia summit that is held every three years. The regional gathering² is just one of several China has pursued in recent years, in an effort to build stronger relations with its neighbors.

中国总理温家宝本周末将启程前往老挝，出席每三年召开一次的东南亚国家首脑会议。这一地区峰会只是中国近年来争取参加的会议之一。中国这样做是为了加强与邻国的关系。

The Greater Mekong Subregion includes the six countries along the 4,000-kilometer Mekong River, which starts in China, flows past Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, before reaching the South China Sea.

大湄公河次区域包括湄公河4千公里沿岸的6个国家。湄公河起源于中国，流经缅甸、老挝、泰国、柬埔寨和越南，最后流入南中国海。

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao goes to Laos, Saturday. He will join other heads of state for the third Greater Mekong Subregion summit. The grouping is sponsored by the Asian Development Bank and is aimed at enhancing regional cooperation.

中国总理温家宝定于星期六启程前往老挝。他将会见出席大湄公河次区域第三次首脑会议的其他国家领导人。亚洲开发银行为召开这一峰会提供经费，目的是加强地区合作。

One controversial issue has been use of the Mekong River, itself. China already has two hydroelectric dam projects on the part of the waterway that flows through China. A third, huge dam -- the Xiaowan Hydropower Station -- is to be completed in 2012.

如何利用湄公河是一个存在争议的问题。中国在本国境内的湄公河河道上已经修建了两个用于水力发电的水坝。第三个大坝、也就是小湾水电站大坝，预计在2012年竣工。

Speaking to reporters in Beijing Wednesday, Assistant Foreign Minister He Yafei acknowledged there are disagreements with other countries about China's use of the river.

中国外交部部长助理何亚非星期三在北京对记者说，有关国家在中国利用湄公河的问题上存在着分歧。

He says there have been media reports that China's upstream hydropower development is having a negative impact on downstream countries, especially environmentally.

他说：“有些媒体在说，中国开发了水电，上游开发水电对下游国家有没有影响啊？生态环境会不会遭到破坏？我想这是媒体和大家关心的问题。”

He says China will never do anything to harm the interests of downstream countries and says Beijing is ready to have discussions on the issue. But he also stresses that what he calls reasonable development of water resources will serve the interests of all countries in the region.

何亚非还说，中国决不会做任何损害下游国家利益的事，并表示北京准备就这个问题进行讨论。但他同时强调，他所说的负责任地开发水资源将对本地区的所有国家有利。

The two-day Greater Mekong Subregion summit begins Sunday. One highlight will be the opening of the Lao section of a major highway that will link Bangkok to the southwestern Chinese city, Kunming.

为期两天的大湄公河次区域首脑会议将于星期天开幕。一个引人注目的安排将是举行一条主要高速公路在老挝境内路段的启用仪式。这条高速公路将把曼谷与中国西南城市昆明连接起来。