China’s plan to develop a dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet is now at a "preliminary planning and demonstration" stage, a Chinese official in New Delhi said on Wednesday.
Brahmaputra River, which flows from Tibet into India’s Arunachal Pradesh state and down through Assam to Bangladesh, is known as Yarlung Tsangbo River is Tibet.
The official also said China will take into consideration the interest of other countries before firming up any plan to develop a dam on the river, reports Reuters.
On Monday, Chinese state media reported the country could build up to 60 gigawatts (GW) of hydropower capacity in the lower reaches of the river.
The report raised concerns in India and Bangladesh, with authorities fearing that Chinese projects could trigger flash floods or create intense water scarcity.
Ji Rong, an official at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, said that downstream development of the river is at a "preliminary planning and demonstration" stage.
"Any project will undergo scientific planning and demonstration with full consideration for the impact on the downstream areas and the interests of both upstream and downstream countries," she said in a statement.
The Brahmaputra is one of India's largest and most important rivers, cutting through the northeastern part of the country, before entering Bangladesh.
To offset any upstream Chinese construction, India is considering building a 10 GW hydropower project in the remote eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, an Indian official said on Tuesday.
Diplomatic relations between the neighbouring nuclear powers are strained after clashes on a remote Himalayan border this summer, where thousands of troops remained deployed in the biting cold.