China's Three Gorges Dam boosts emergency response with digital integration

China's Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest water control and hydroelectric project, is integrating digital technologies with its flood control system to ensure swift and effective emergency responses, safeguarding downstream communities during extreme weather events. Hailed as a symbol of China's hydraulic engineering prowess, the Three Gorges Dam in central China's Hubei began to take shape in 1994 and was put into operation to generate power in 2003.

Beyond generating electricity, the Three Gorges Dam has also played a critical role in flood control. The massive concrete structure was built at the junction of the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the third longest river in the world, to safeguard flood-prone regions.

"Since the Three Gorges Reservoir began storing water in 2003 and up until September 2024, it has intercepted floods nearly 70 times, diverting over 220 billion cubic meters of water and effectively protecting downstream areas," said Gong Wenting, an engineer from the China Three Gorges Corporation.

Moreover, the need for rapid and effective responses has grown increasingly urgent as extreme weather events becoming more frequent in recent years.

To better predict water conditions, the Three Gorges Corporation has developed one of the largest telemetry system in China to gather real-time data.

"Our system collects and analyzes data from over 1,600 hydrological stations and more than 20,000 meteorological sites, covering nearly 80 percent of the Yangtze's upper basin. Within just 10 minutes, we can gather critical information from key stations and reservoirs, providing essential support for forecasting and decision-making," said Shu Weimin, an employee from China Yangtze Power, a joint stock limited company established by the China Three Gorges Corporation.

In 2020, an advanced rainfall estimation and forecasting system for the Yangtze River Basin was developed by the company. It features a spatial resolution of up to five kilometers and a temporal resolution of three hours, with forecasts extending up to 10 days, according to Shu.

To enhance flood forecasting and control operations, the Three Gorges project also plans to integrate cutting-edge technologies like "digital twin" simulations based on constantly changing data collected from the real environment through sensors.

China's Three Gorges Dam boosts emergency response with digital integration

China's Three Gorges Dam boosts emergency response with digital integration

An official from China's Ministry of Commerce told American enterprises on Sunday that the country will continue to protect the rights of foreign-invested enterprises in China, including those funded by the United States.

Ling Ji, vice minister of commerce and deputy China international trade representative, made the remarks while hosting a roundtable meeting in Beijing with representatives from over 20 U.S.-funded enterprises, including Tesla, GE Healthcare, and Medtronic.

Speaking at the meeting, Ling said that despite the changes in the international situation, China's commitment to reform and opening up remains unwavering. Multilateralism is the inevitable choice for addressing the difficulties and challenges facing the world. China's door to opening up will only widen, and its policies regarding foreign investment have not changed and will not change.

The Ministry of Commerce will continue to provide protection for foreign-invested enterprises in China, including U.S.-funded enterprises, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of foreign-invested enterprises in accordance with the law, and actively promoting the resolution of issues raised by foreign-invested enterprises, according to the vice minister.

China has been all along, as it is now, and will continue to be an ideal, secure, and promising land for foreign investment, Ling noted.

Ling also stressed that the U.S., under various pretexts, has recently abused tariffs on all trading partners, including China, severely damaging the rules-based multilateral trade system and infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of various countries. The Chinese government strongly condemns and firmly opposes this and has taken decisive countermeasures in response.

He pointed out that the root of the tariff issue lies in the U.S. It is hoped that U.S.-funded enterprises will trace the origin, clarify cause and effect, send rational voices, and take practical actions to jointly maintain the stability of the global supply chain and promote cooperation and mutual benefit.

These remarks were made as China announced countermeasures on Friday against the U.S. decision to impose "reciprocal tariffs" on Chinese exports, including the imposition of an additional 34-percent tariff on all products imported from the U.S. starting from April 10, as well as filing a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization regarding the U.S. "reciprocal tariffs".

China committed to protecting rights of foreign-funded enterprises: official