In the early years of the new century, Chinese dam builders and financiers appeared on the global hydropower market with a bang. China Exim Bank and companies such as Sinohydro, China Gezhouba Group and China Southern Power Grid started to take on large, destructive projects in countries like Burma and Sudan, which had previously been shunned by the international community. Their emergence threatened to roll back progress regarding human rights and the environment which civil society had achieved over many years. However, new evidence suggests that Chinese dam builders and financiers are trying to become good corporate citizens rather than rogue players on the global market. Here is a progress report from the perspective of an international civil society advocate.