On January 9, 2026, the State Council Information Office held a press conference, during which Chen Min, Vice Minister of Water Resources, introduced to Chinese and foreign journalists the accelerated progress of China's national water network construction. Under the personal planning and promotion of General Secretary Xi Jinping, China is accelerating the construction of a comprehensive, green, intelligent, and circular national water network system. This grand strategic infrastructure project has become an important cornerstone for ensuring national flood control security, water supply security, food security, and ecological security. It not only provides solid support for high-quality economic and social development, but also profoundly changes China's water conservancy landscape, and will continue to play a key role in the new journey of building a socialist modernized country in all respects.

The comprehensive benefits are increasingly prominent

During the 14th Five Year Plan period, the scale of investment in water conservancy construction was unprecedented, with a total completed investment of 5.68 trillion yuan, and the annual investment exceeded one trillion yuan for four consecutive years. A batch of major water conservancy projects with strategic significance that have been discussed for many years have been launched one after another, with 181 major water conservancy projects starting construction, 65 more than the 13th Five Year Plan. For example, decisive progress has been made in projects such as the Yellow River Guxian, the South to North Water Diversion Middle Route Diversion Project to supplement the Han River, and the second phase of the Huai River estuary waterway. In 2025 alone, 27 major projects including the adjustment of flood prone areas in the Huaihe River, the diversion of water from Sichuan to Minjiang, and the Huangmaoxia Water Conservancy Hub in Guangdong have been launched. The implementation of these projects has significantly improved the ability to ensure water security: during the 14th Five Year Plan period, the newly added water supply capacity was 31.8 billion cubic meters, the newly added reservoir capacity was 22.3 billion cubic meters, and the newly added irrigated farmland area exceeded 53 million mu. A number of rivers, including the Grand Canal, Yongding River, Hutuo River, and Xiliao River, which had long been cut off, have achieved historic full line connectivity. The national water network covers 80.3% of the country's land area and has become a core infrastructure network serving major national strategies.

Significant achievements in multi domain governance

The Ministry of Water Resources has always prioritized ensuring the safety of people's lives, property, and basic livelihood needs. In terms of flood control safety, by 2025, through the fine scheduling of the watershed flood control engineering system, large and medium-sized reservoirs will retain 120.2 billion cubic meters of floods, reduce the flooding of 1082 urban areas, and avoid the transfer of 3.06 million people. In terms of ecological restoration of rivers and lakes, the 88 Mother Rivers and Lakes Revitalization Actions have achieved remarkable results, and rivers such as the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal that have been cut off for many years have regained vitality; The treatment of overexploited groundwater in North China has achieved significant results, with shallow and deep water levels rising by 3.76 meters and 7.65 meters respectively compared to 2020. Millennium famous springs such as Jinan Baiquan and Shanxi Jinci Spring have once again witnessed the phenomenon of surging water. In terms of food security, the irrigated area of arable land in China has reached 1.09 billion mu, and large and medium-sized irrigation areas account for 38.9% of the country's grain planting area, producing 50.9% of the country's grain and becoming a true "main force" in grain production. In terms of rural water supply, by implementing the "3+1" model of integrating urban and rural water supply and scaling up, the national rural tap water penetration rate has reached 96%, and the water supply guarantee level for about 134 million rural population has been improved. Keywords: New News, Latest News, New News, Latest News

Continuous expansion of investment channels

Facing the "15th Five Year Plan", water conservancy construction will continue to maintain a large-scale and high-level promotion trend, emphasizing the equal importance of stock and increment, and coordinating "hard investment" and "soft construction". In 2026, a number of new landmark projects such as Fujian Shangbaishi Reservoir and Liaodong Peninsula water resource allocation will be started successively. In order to ensure the funding needs for large-scale construction, the Ministry of Water Resources has deepened investment and financing reforms, adhered to the principle of "dual pronged approach", and actively expanded financing channels. During the 14th Five Year Plan period, the total amount of local government special bonds, bank loans, and social capital investment reached 2.05 trillion yuan, accounting for 36.1% of the total investment. Among them, attracting social capital of 548.5 billion yuan, an increase of 86.4% compared to the 13th Five Year Plan, and reaching a historical high of 147.6 billion yuan in 2025. At the same time, breakthroughs have been made in innovative investment and financing models, with the successful issuance of REITs for Tangpu Reservoir in Zhejiang Province and the exploration of the combination of water network construction and centralized cultivation of farmland in Jiangxi and other regions. The trading income of newly added farmland indicators is used to feed back the construction, injecting new impetus into the sustainable development of water conservancy. With an unprecedented pace of construction, the national water network is moving steadily towards the goal of "complete system, safe and reliable, intensive and efficient, green and intelligent, smooth circulation, and orderly regulation", laying a more solid foundation for water security for Chinese path to modernization. (This article is from the official website www.seetao.com of Jiandao. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited, otherwise it will be prosecuted. Please indicate Jiandao website+original link when reprinting.) Jiandao website news column editor/Gao Xue