摘要：A view of Jianjiangyan Irrigation System in southwest China's Sichuan Province, September 10, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

A view of Jianjiangyan Irrigation System in southwest China's Sichuan Province, September 10, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

By Hannan Hussain

China's Ministry of Water Resources on Monday unveiled a critical achievement in the country's push for sustainable water infrastructure: The world's most advanced and wide-ranging system of its kind is now concentrated within China's borders. It comes as China musters over 94,000 reservoirs, and dozens of varied resource diversification initiatives while preparing the ground for modernizing water resource technologies through closer engagement with key regional powers.

"These advancements play a vital role in supporting national strategies, stabilizing grain production, ensuring harvests and improving the quality of life for both urban and rural populations," affirmed China's Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying at a press conference about the achievements of the country's water conservancy development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) recently.

The international merits of a sprawling water infrastructure system are difficult to understate. China has demonstrated its ability to advance capacity-building on the world stage, led by the prospective signing of the China-Kuwait agreement to build the largest wastewater treatment facility on Kuwaiti soil – by measure of capacity.

Given the fact that wastewater treatment, a central consideration for national conservation efforts, is a fixture in Beijing's overseas capacity and development support, the production of an internationally competitive, sustainable water infrastructure complex provides evidence of leading from the front.

Consider the policy relevance of the most populous water infrastructure system in the world. It promises to extend countrywide water network coverage to nearly 81 percent, underlining a conscious effort to scale-up long-term water access for the population.

Interestingly, the 14th Five-Year Plan period also shows the value of carrying forward water conservancy as an enduring priority. The period aligns closely with China's global offerings on sustained climate capacity support, evident in the China-Japan-Republic of Korea's joint action plan through 2030, which puts a premium on key elements of the globally competitive water irrigation system. This includes chemical environmental management, a central consideration to limiting waterborne health diseases and challenges to irrigation.

China's success in advancing a cutting-edge reservoir management system that is receptive to the needs of its population thus speaks to a people-centric approach to improving livelihoods – a major consideration for advancing sustainable development progress for scores of countries.

The Fenghuangjing Pumping Station, which is part of the Yangtze-to-Huaihe Water Diversion Project, in Wuhu, east China's Anhui Province, July 27, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

One of the strengths of China's water infrastructure development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period is also its attention to digitization. Internet of Things sensors constitute key drivers of real-time water monitoring, helping to assess irrigation levels and the degree of traction that rural and urban resource access could have with segments of the population.

New wastewater treatment plans, packed with robust monitoring and maintenance standards, also underline the broader policy premium that Chinese lawmakers place on the right to water and sanitation for its present and future generations. The world's largest water infrastructure system also focuses on bolstering China’s flood and drought defense system, with 185.6 billion cubic meters of countrywide flood control capacity on display.

As the share of flood losses to China's GDP drops, the world is left with lessons in smart contingency interventions and multiyear water investment that have placed the sustainable development and climate prevention needs of the Chinese population at the center of policy resolve.

"China invested a record high of over 1.35 trillion yuan (nearly $190 billion) in the construction of water conservancy facilities in 2024. This follows the sector's landmark achievement of surpassing 1 trillion yuan in 2022, marking a new milestone and setting record-breaking investment levels for three consecutive years," stated China's Ministry of Water Resources on September 29.

Thus understood, the introduction of China's world-leading water infrastructure system is a powerful testament to the coming together of community-based economic needs, national water security strategies and globally acknowledged digital water access interventions – all under the banner of a nationwide mechanism that is unrivalled in scale, utility and segments of population served.

Hannan Hussain, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is co-founder and senior expert at Initiate Futures, an Islamabad-based policy think tank.

来源：中国网一点号