(April 5, 2010) In recent years China has become a regional leader in Southeast Asia for the financing of major infrastructure projects, particularly dams—overtaking traditional sources like the World Bank. But China is quickly learning that the rules of investment outside its borders are drastically different than those within it. This report by Wu Aoqi, a researcher based in Beijing, analyzes a number of problems facing both Chinese firms and the central government as they pursue a “going out” policy.
China rejects Mekong River dam criticism
(April 5, 2010) China has rejected claims that its dams on the Mekong River are to blame for record low water levels in downstream nations.
Mekong nations call for China assistance amid Drought
(April 5, 2010) Downstream nations along Asia’s Mekong River hailed China’s move to share data on reservoir levels and called for more cooperation as a severe drought heightens concerns that its dams have distorted water flows.
Flood of fears over China’s projects
(April 3, 2010) China’s dam-building spree along the Mekong river in south-western Yunnan province has raised fears among several of its neighbours, who say the dams have led to shrinking levels of water downstream.
Experts say cooperation needed on Mekong river resources
(April 3, 2010) Experts meeting to discuss Mekong River resources have urged countries along the Southeast Asian river to improve cooperation in developing hydropower. Delegates also urged China to share more information about its dam building on the Mekong.
Chinese-funded dams going up
(April 2, 2010) Chinese companies have begun building two large hydropower dams at a combined cost of more than $1 billion to feed electricity-starved Cambodia, officials in Phnom Penh said Thursday.
Countries blame China, not nature, for water shortage
(April 2, 2010) Farmers and fishermen in countries that share the Mekong River with China, especially Thailand, have lashed out at China over four dams that span the Chinese portion of the 3,000-mile river, despite what appears to be firm scientific evidence that low rainfall is responsible for the plunging levels of the river, not China’s hydroelectric power stations.
China’s shadow looms over the Mekong
(April 2, 2010) Fishermen and farmers in downstream countries are protesting the impact of China’s dams. But experts say that the dams also give China a huge potential for geopolitical influence.
Zipingpu and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake: The debate continues
(April 1, 2010) More scientists are joining the debate over whether China’s Wenchuan May 2008 earthquake was triggered by the Zipingpu dam.
For whom the mighty Mekong flows
(March 31, 2010) The current drought is now widely declared as a water crisis by government officials in Thailand, Laos and China’s Yunnan province. And it is, but that’s not the whole story.
Mekong states to face China over river
(March 27, 2010) Four Southeast Asian countries badly hit by falling water levels in the mighty Mekong river will next week confront China, blamed for squeezing the river with dams, but concessions from Beijing are unlikely.
When the Mekong runs dry
(March 17, 2010) Low water levels on the upper Mekong River have renewed criticism over hydropower dams China has erected on the waterway’s upper reaches. Environmental groups and governments have pinned blame on China’s inward-looking water management policies, although some experts say the real culprit is unusually severe drought conditions in southwestern China, northern Thailand and Laos.
Severe drought puts spotlight on Chinese dams
(March 12, 2010) Environmental groups in Thailand and elsewhere lay at least part of the blame of the recent drought on China’s doorstep. They claim that China’s management of a series of dams on the Lancang has aggravated the unfolding crisis. The Thai media has helped stir up emotions; one editorial in the Bangkok Post last month was headlined "China’s dams killing Mekong." Yet Chinese engineers and some other scientists say the criticism is unfounded.
Three Gorges reservoir plagued by hazards
(March 6, 2010) The fragile hilly ecosystem near the Three Gorges Reservoir has suffered a series of plights including geologic hazards, stone desertification and water pollution, said a vice-mayor of Chongqing municipality, the Beijing Times reported on Saturday.
China: Dam plans open gates to tough choices ahead
(February 25, 2010) The Nu River flows from the Tibetan highlands through China’s western Yunnan province, cutting between two mountain ranges before rushing through Burma into the Andaman Sea. It is home to a third of the country’s ethnic groups and a diverse ecosystem of 7,000 species of plants and 80 rare or endangered animals and fish. It’s also one of only two major rivers in China yet to be dammed.
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