Beijing said it wants hydropower to meet 30 percent of the country's electricity demand, up from 20%.

According to the deputy director general at State Power Corp, Chen Dongping, the new hydroelectric plants would most likely be financed by loans from state-owned banks because the higher construction costs of dams make them less attractive to investors.

"China needs these plants," Mr Dongping said. "Hydroelectric power is clean energy. State support is critical because no commercial company could afford to carry such large costs on its books."

Experts believe the new dams would mostly tap rivers in mountainous areas of the poorer western provinces such as Yunnan and Sichuan that the government is trying to develop.

However, critics of China's dam building program say the projects cause too much environmental and social damage because of the need to relocate people whose homes will be flooded.