China broke ground last weekend on what Premier Li Qiang calls “the world’s largest hydropower project,” a five‑dam cascade on the Yarlung Zangbo River just 30 km from the Indian border. Estimated at 1.2 trillion yuan—about $176 billion at current exchange rates—the scheme would deliver 70 GW of capacity and more than 300 billion kWh of power a year, triple the output of the Three Gorges Dam. Construction duties fall to the new, state‑owned China Yajiang Group; first electricity is promised in the early‑to‑mid 2030s. Beijing touts the project as the backbone of its west‑to‑east renewable‑energy push, saying it will cut carbon, create jobs, and spur growth after a sluggish 2024.