China : Xi Jinping Says $170-Billion Brahmaputra Hydropower Project on Track, Reiterates Taiwan Reunification Push

Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his New Year address on Wednesday, asserted that Taiwan’s reunification with China was “unstoppable” and highlighted major advances in the country’s defence, economic and technological sectors. He also confirmed the commencement of construction of what China describes as the world’s largest hydropower project on the Brahmaputra river.

In his nationally televised New Year message for 2026, Xi said, “Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a bond of blood and kinship. The reunification of our motherland, a trend of the times, is unstoppable.”

His remarks come against the backdrop of intensified military drills by the Chinese armed forces around Taiwan over the past three days. The self-governing island, which China claims as part of its mainland, has witnessed repeated high-intensity exercises aimed at simulating scenarios related to its capture.

Since 2022, China has conducted such large-scale military exercises around Taiwan at least six times, escalating tensions in the region.

Xi also underscored Beijing’s progress in infrastructure and energy development, announcing that construction of the hydropower project at the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo river has begun. The river is known as the Brahmaputra after entering India.

China has formally initiated work on the USD 170 billion dam project in Tibet, near the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh. The project has raised concerns in India and Bangladesh, particularly over the potential impact on water flow, flooding risks and downstream ecological stability.

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