Dashixia Water Control Project in China's Xinjiang completes dam capping

The Dashixia Water Control Project in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the largest water conservancy project in Tarim Basin, has reached a significant milestone in its construction with the capping of its dam on Monday, signaling the start of preparations for water storage, according to China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited, investor and also builder of the project.

Located in the middle and lower reaches of Kumarak River in Aksu region, the project is one of the 172 major water conservancy projects for water saving and supply in China.

At 247 meters, the dam is the world's tallest concrete face rock-fill dam currently under construction, equivalent to the height of an 80-story building. This achievement sets a global standard for dam construction.

The dam has a total installed capacity of 750,000 kW and a reservoir volume of 1.17 billion cubic meters.

Once fully operational, the project will generate over 1.8 billion kWh of clean electricity annually.

In addition, it will greatly enhance agricultural irrigation in the downstream Aksu region, benefiting key crops such as walnuts, apples, and jujubes.

The ecological environment of the Aksu River, which flows into the Tarim River, China's longest inland river, along with the Yarkant, Hotan, and other rivers, is also expected to improve significantly as a result of the project.

"Once the Dashixia water reservoir project is completed, we will be able to store floodwater in the reservoir to provide water for approximately eight million mu (around 533,333 hectares) of farmland downstream," said Li Yang, chief engineer for reservoir dam construction of Dashixia Water Control Project.

Dashixia Water Control Project in China's Xinjiang completes dam capping

Dashixia Water Control Project in China's Xinjiang completes dam capping

Dashixia Water Control Project in China's Xinjiang completes dam capping

Dashixia Water Control Project in China's Xinjiang completes dam capping

Dashixia Water Control Project in China's Xinjiang completes dam capping

Japan's House of Councillors, the upper house of the National Diet of the country, passed a supplementary budget for fiscal year 2025 at a plenary session on Tuesday, pushing defense spending to a record high.

Since the House of Representatives, the lower house, has already passed the supplementary budget, the approval of the supplementary budget by the House of Councillors means it has been enacted by the National Diet.

The supplementary budget allocates an additional 1.1 trillion yen (about 7.7 billion U.S. dollars) for defense. Combined with the previously approved 9.9 trillion yen (about 69.2 billion U.S. dollars) defense budget, Japan's total defense spending for fiscal year 2025 reaches approximately 11 trillion yen (about 77 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for about 2 percent of its GDP, a record high that has drawn questioning and strong opposition from various quarters within Japan.

In fact, the increase in defense-related expenses had already sparked questioning and opposition when the government submitted the supplementary budget to an extraordinary Diet session on December 8.

Japanese citizens have rallies recently in various parts across the country, strongly protesting the government's disregard of public welfare and its continued advancement of military expansion.

"Japan's military spending has continued to increase while social security contributions are being cut. I oppose this move as we are not paying taxes to fund military expansion," said a protester.

In recent years, Japan has repeatedly breached the constraints of its postwar pacifist constitution, significantly increased its defense budget, promoted the export of lethal weapons, and plotted to revise the Three Non-Nuclear Principles.

The Three Non-Nuclear Principles, not possessing, not producing and not allowing introduction of nuclear weapons into Japanese territory, were first declared in the Diet, Japan's parliament, by then Japanese Prime Minister Eisaku Sato in 1967 and viewed as a national credo.

Japan passes supplementary budget, pushing defense spending to record high