China's Yarlung Zangbo hydropower project won't hurt India

The world's largest hydropower project marks a critical step toward China's carbon neutrality—but also stokes tensions with India and Bangladesh.

China's ambitious Yarlung Zangbo hydropower project officially broke ground on July 19 in Tibet/Xizang, an area blessed with some of the country's richest water resources.

Widely viewed as a pivotal step toward China's carbon neutrality goals, the project also facilitates power grid flexibility, creating a multi-energy complementarity between hydropower, solar, and wind energy in the surrounding area.

Its location, however, has stirred unease downstream. Policymakers in India and Bangladesh warn of possible environmental disruption—and even the risk that Beijing could one day weaponise the river's flow.

Today's edition features an op‑ed from Wang Lei (王雷), Chargé d’Affaires at China’s Embassy in India. First published in The Indian Express on 23 January 2025, the piece explains why and how China will develop this project, and what it really means for neighbours along the lower Yarlung Zangbo river.

Below is the full text of the piece.

Recently, the Chinese government formally approved the hydropower project in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River in Xizang, which has gone viral in India. Some praised it as a clean energy milestone achieved by China. Others hyped it as “Chinese weapons” or “ticking water bombs” against the lower riparian states like India. What is the reality? Let us take a closer look at the project and its impact.

Why is China undertaking this project?

The Yarlung Zangbo River is the world's highest-altitude major river descending through the globe's longest and steepest canyon, holding Asia's greatest untapped water reserves. The proposed project is located in the river’s lower reaches, where its precipitous fall creates one of the greatest concentrations of river energy on Earth. With a planned capacity of 60 gigawatts, it is expected to generate nearly 300 billion kilowatt-hours of clean, renewable and zero-carbon electricity every year, sufficient for the annual consumption of 300 million people. By effectively reducing dependence on fossil fuels, the construction of this project will help China meet its “dual carbon” goals. It will also contribute to combating climate change and promoting low-carbon development globally. Further, the development of solar and wind energy resources in the surrounding areas will be significantly promoted, thereby forming a multi-energy, complementary clean energy pattern.

How will China develop this project?

China adheres to a responsible attitude towards cross-border river development and pursues a policy of balancing utilisation and protection. Through decades of rigorous assessment, the project has fully considered the regional geological environment, avoiding seismically active areas and geological disaster chains in the basin. During the construction, disaster monitoring will be ensured, and the basin’s disaster prevention and emergency-response capabilities will be continuously improved. After completion, the project can effectively reduce water erosion, gradually slow down and stabilise the river landform evolution, and ultimately reduce the occurrence of geological disasters. In addition, the project prioritises biodiversity, striving to preserve the original ecosystem to the greatest extent in accordance with the highest industry standards. Through ecological compensation and vegetation restoration, this will set an example for future projects.

Does the Yarlung Zangbo hydropower project pose a "threat" to downstream countries?

China sticks to the policy of forging friendships and partnerships with its neighbours. It never pursues the maximisation of unilateral interests, let alone benefits for itself at the expense of its neighbours. China does not and will never seek “water hegemony”. In fact, China has signed over 50 bilateral treaties and agreements with neighbouring countries on water resources management, and established more than 10 cross-border river basin governance institutions with cooperative development and ecological protection as its core. Taking the Lancang River as an example, China has always maintained good communication and cooperation with the lower riparian states on water conservancy and hydropower projects, leading to mutual benefits.

The development of the project has corresponding guarantees in terms of engineering safety and environmental protection and has no negative impact on the lower reaches. More specifically, the project does not consume water but only uses the potential energy of water to generate electricity. After completion, it will help with disaster prevention and reduction by making the runoff more even via “rainy season flood storage and dry season water release.” Indian scholars have pointed out that the water volume of the Brahmaputra River is mainly from rainfall and tributaries in the southern slope of the Himalayas. As the project progresses, China will release more data and information in due course.

In 2006, China and India established an expert-level mechanism on trans-border rivers to cooperate on hydrological reporting, and disaster prevention and reduction. China has repeatedly provided hydrological data to India during emergencies, and strongly supported it in disaster prevention and reduction measures. During the recent meeting of the special representatives on the China-India boundary question, both sides agreed to continue enhancing cross border communication and cooperation, including cooperation on cross-border rivers. China will continue to maintain communication with India through existing channels and step up cooperation on disaster prevention and relief.

China stands ready to work with the Indian side to enhance mutual trust, strengthen cooperation, properly handle differences, and promote the healthy and stable development of China-India relations.