Why China’s neighbours are worried about its new mega-dam project

For Beijing, the project promises clean power, jobs and a jolt of stimulus for a slowing economy. For neighbours downstream, it stirs old anxieties about water security: the Yarlung Zangbo becomes the Brahmaputra in India and Bangladesh, a lifeline for millions.

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This picture taken on June 29, 2020 shows water being released from the Three Gorges Dam, a gigantic hydropower project on the Yangtze river, in Yichang, central China's Hubei province. PHOTO: AFP

July 23, 2025

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