China has topped the world in the number of large dams, a senior government official announced in Beijing Tuesday.

Addressing the 20th Congress of the International Commission on Large Dams (CICLD), which was inaugurated in Beijing, Chinese Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao said that China has had the most large dams in the world.

Wen, who is also the honorary chairman of the congress, told more than 2,000 local and overseas experts and scholars attending the Congress that China is now designing over 30 large dams that are above 100 m in height, noting that the Chinese government has attached great importance to building dams and hopes to further cooperation with foreign countries in the field.

Wang Shucheng, minister of Water Resources and chairman of the organization committee of the congress, said that over the past five decades, China has built up tens of thousands of reservoirs, with a total capacity of 460 billion cubic meters.

Some Chinese dams, such as the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River and the Xiaolangdi Dam on the Yellow River, are among the largest and most sophisticated dam projects in the world, Wang said.

The four-day congress, which is sponsored by five Chinese official and non-government bodies, will be focused on a number of key issues concerning the construction of dams.

CICLD was founded in 1928 and now has 81 member countries. It holds a congress every three years.

(Xinhua)