onsdag 17. desember 2025

China is building the world’s most powerful hydropower system deep in the Himalayas. It remains shrouded in secrecy

Hundreds of miles from China’s populous coastline, a sharp bend in a remote Himalayan river is set to become the centerpiece of one of the country’s most ambitious – and controversial – infrastructure projects to date. There, a $168 billion hydropower system is expected to generate more electricity than any other in the world – a vast boon for China as it hurtles toward a future where electric vehicles dominate its highways and power-hungry AI models race to out-compute international rivals.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for the project to be “advanced forcefully, systematically, and effectively” during a rare visit earlier this year to Tibet, a region where Beijing continues to tighten its grip in the name of economic growth and stability.