China builds world's largest water infrastructure system

China has built the world's largest and most comprehensive water infrastructure system, benefiting more people than any other in the world. The total investment in water conservancy during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) reached 5.68 trillion yuan (about $821.61 billion), with annual investment exceeding 1 trillion yuan for four consecutive years.

China must take issues related to water resources into consideration when pushing forward Chinese modernization, said Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressing the need to accelerate the modernization of water infrastructure.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the national water network covered 80.3 percent of the country's land area, and 181 major water conservancy projects broke ground. From the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which now serves as a stable water source for 195 million people, to accelerated construction of small water diversion projects in rural areas, the vast majority of regions across the country now have access to the national water network.

During the period, the country's water supply capacity increased by 31.8 billion cubic meters. China continued upgrading and renovating medium- and large-sized irrigation areas, with irrigated farmland exceeding 1.09 billion mu (about 72.67 million hectares). The national water network ensures water security for key economic zones, major urban clusters, major grain-producing areas, important ecological function zones and vital waterways.

China's rural tap water coverage reached 96 percent during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. The Ministry of Water Resources aims to raise rural tap water coverage by 1 percentage point this year.

Water security is fundamental to long-term national stability. The world's largest water infrastructure system has played a vital role in facilitating China's domestic economic circulation and fostering a new development paradigm.

According to a recent United Nations report, the world has entered an "era of water bankruptcy," signaling heightened uncertainty in international trade of water-intensive agricultural products such as grain. China's national water network optimizes water resource allocation, ensuring reliable industrial and agricultural water use.

Compared with the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), the effective utilization coefficient of farmland irrigation water rose from 0.565 to 0.583. Preliminary estimates show that water consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP and per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value decreased by 20 percent and 25 percent, respectively. Remarkably, China has achieved zero growth in total water consumption even as its total economic output and crop harvests have increased over the years.

China will accelerate the development of a modern water network and enhance its capacity to prevent floods, coordinate the allocation of water resources, and ensure water supply in both urban and rural areas, according to the Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for National Economic and Social Development.