Countries like China (and India), must control their populations; it does demand government direction, implementation and management. The alternative is frightening.

Projects like the Three Gorges Dam (The Yangtze Project) for the development of hydroelectric power is necessary if China is to become a great power. The system of locks will permit access of large vessels to central China, as well as control the water flow. People will be displaced, natural vistas changed, but outside of massive nuclear development, there is no alternative. Feasibility studies go back to 1919, and the development was not unexpected or precipitate. Approximately 400 sq. mi. will be flooded, and 1.2 million people displaced. China burns 50 million tons of coal a year, and the amount must be reduced.
New farms for 300,000 farmers are planned, and many rural workers will be displaced to urban jobs. Planning is complex, and will not be without problems.

The U. S. made its major strides in developing hydroelectric power and stream control in the first half of the 20th c.; people seem to forget the disruptions caused by the Tennessee Valley Administration and similar projects. Now one of the limits to U. S. growth is the lack of capacity for energy growth; stagnation is looming.