The relationship between the boreal spring (April--May) Southern Hemisphere annular mode (SAM) and the following summer (June--August) precipitation in China for the period of 1951--2001 is examined statistically in this study. There is a significantly positive correlation between the boreal spring SAM index (SAMI) and the following summer rainfall in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The summer large-scale atmospheric circulation anomalies over East Asia are also related to the boreal spring SAMI events. A strong SAM in boreal spring is followed by a weakened East Asian summer monsoon, a strengthened and westward expanded western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH), as well as increased ascending vertical velocity, specific humidity and water vapor flux convergence. These situations provide necessary circulation and water vapor conditions for increasing the summer precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River valley, and vice versa. The boreal spring SAM variation provides a potential valuable signal for predicting the summertime precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River valley.