China on Tuesday denied a media report that it was planning to divert water from the Brahmaputra River in Tibet to its arid Xinjiang province by constructing a 1000 kilometre tunnel.
“This is untrue. This is a false report,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying in response to a question.
The report, if true, would have had a major impact on livelihoods India and Bangladesh, as the Brahmaputra, known as Yarlung Tsangpo in China, passes through both these countries before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.
“China will continue to attach great importance to the cross-border river cooperation,” Ms. Hua observed.
The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post had reported on Monday that Chinese engineers were testing techniques that could be used to build a 1,000 km tunnel – the world’s longest – to carry water from Tibet to Xinjiang.
