China aims to cut water use per 10,000 yuan of GDP by over 10 pct by 2030

By 2030, China aims to cut water consumption per 10,000 yuan (1,428 U.S. dollars) of GDP and per 10,000 yuan of industrial output by more than 10 percent from 2025 levels, the Ministry of Water Resources' national water conservation office said on Tuesday.

A senior official noted that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), efforts will focus on high-quality water conservancy development and national water security, with the strict implementation of China's water-saving institutional and policy framework.

Key goals for the end of 2030 include raising the effective utilization coefficient of farmland irrigation water to over 0.6, expanding the scale of the water-saving industry to more than 1.2 trillion yuan, and increasing the utilization of unconventional water sources to over 30 billion cubic meters.

For water-scarce or overloaded regions, the reuse rate of reclaimed water should exceed 30 percent, and the utilization rate of mine water in the Yellow River basin is projected to exceed 70 percent.

In 2026, water conservancy authorities at all levels will enhance overall water resource management, improve conservation systems, and promote the development of a water-saving society and a modern water-saving industrial system, aiming to lay a solid foundation for water conservation throughout the 15th Five-Year Plan period.