COMBATING WATER POLLUTION

The State Council passed a five-year plan in 2011 aimed at ensuring the rural population has access to safe drinking water.

By the end of next year, the Chinese government hopes to have solved drinking water problems for 298 million rural residents, according to the plan.

Local governments have also realized that developing an economy can lead to heavy costs in more ways than one.

Zhejiang Province, which has a booming private sector, has realized growth has come at a cost to the environment.

The coastal province's rivers used to be well supplied with water. Now, per capita water resources are below the national average.

Last year it set up a "River Duty Officer" system, in which an officials is held accountable for pollution in a designated river.

"Three municipal leaders in Jinhua City have been removed from their posts and seven others were punished for negligence in tackling water pollution," said Xia Baolong, secretary of the provincial committee of the Communist Party of China.

As China focuses on quality growth, local magistrates will also get tough on pollution.

"Reassuringly, central and local governments are making efforts," said Ni Junhua, head of Green Zhejiang, an environmental NGO.