From January 5 to 6, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will visit New Delhi to discuss the impact of Chinese dams with his Indian counterparts, a senior U.S. official said on Friday. The discussions are expected to focus on the environmental and climate impacts of Chinese upstream dams, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
“We’ve certainly seen in many places in the Indo-Pacific that upstream dams that the Chinese have created, including in the Mekong region, can have really potentially damaging environmental but also climate impacts on downstream countries,” a senior U.S. official commented ahead of Sullivan’s visit. The official added that Washington will address New Delhi’s concerns during the discussions.
The Indian government has previously conveyed its concerns to Beijing about China’s plans to build a hydropower dam in Tibet on the Yarlung Zangbo River, which flows into India. Chinese officials, however, maintain that the hydropower projects will not significantly impact the environment or downstream water supplies.
The construction of this dam, which will be the largest of its kind globally with an estimated capacity of 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, was approved last month.
In addition to the dam issue, Washington also expects to discuss civilian nuclear cooperation, artificial intelligence, space, military licensing, and Chinese economic overcapacity during Sullivan’s visit.
American officials have clarified that they will not be meeting with the Dalai Lama during this visit.
Washington and New Delhi have built close ties in recent years, despite occasional differences on issues like minority abuse in India, New Delhi’s ties with Russia amid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and alleged assassination plots against Sikh separatists on U.S. and Canadian soil.