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The Ministry of Water Resources held a press conference to introduce the results of the 3rd Asia International Water Week

The Ministry of Water Resources held a press conference to introduce the results of the 3rd Asia International Water Week
The Ministry of Water Resources held a press conference to introduce the results of the 3rd Asia International Water Week

On the afternoon of September 26, 2024 (Thursday), the Ministry of Water Resources held a press conference to introduce the results of the 3rd Asian International Water Week, at which Li Liangsheng, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources, introduced the relevant situation, and answered questions from reporters with Jin Hai, Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Science and Technology of the Ministry of Water Resources, Peng Jing, President of the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, and Duan Hong, Secretary-General of the China Hydraulic Society.

The Ministry of Water Resources held a press conference to introduce the results of the 3rd Asia International Water Week

Diao Lili

Hello everyone! Welcome to the press conference of the Ministry of Water Resources.

The third edition of the Asia International Water Week has been successfully concluded this afternoon, and we will hold a press conference here for the first time to introduce the results of the conference and answer your questions. Present at the press conference were: Li Liangsheng, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources, Jin Hai, Director General of the Department of International Cooperation and Science and Technology of the Ministry of Water Resources, Peng Jing, President of the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, and Duan Hong, Secretary-General of the China Hydraulic Society.

Next, we would like to invite Vice Minister Li Liangsheng to make an introduction.

The Ministry of Water Resources held a press conference to introduce the results of the 3rd Asia International Water Week

Li Liangsheng

Ladies and gentlemen, journalists, hello everyone!

Welcome to today's press conference and thank the media for their attention and support to the 3rd Asia International Water Week. After four days of extensive and in-depth exchanges and discussions, the 3rd Asia International Water Week has just come to a successful conclusion. We held a press conference as soon as possible to share the fruitful results of the conference.

With the theme of "Jointly Promoting Water Security for the Future", the 3rd Asia International Water Week held a variety of exchange activities around six major topics: water strategy and water policy innovation, digital twin enabling smart water conservancy, climate change and water-related disasters, water and food energy security, water and river basin ecosystems, and knowledge integration and dissemination, including the opening and closing ceremonies, 3 plenary sessions and 56 parallel meetings, and 13 multilateral and bilateral institutional meetings on international cooperation in water conservancy. The Water Week also held a special exhibition of China's water conservancy science and technology innovation achievements, vividly demonstrating the scientific and technological achievements and construction achievements of China's high-quality water conservancy development.

The rich and colorful conference and exchange activities have attracted extensive attention and active participation in Asia and even the world. Nearly 1,300 representatives from government departments, scientific research institutions, colleges and universities, water-related enterprises and international organizations attended the meeting, including about 600 foreign representatives. Ministerial-level officials from nine Asian countries attended the event and shared their water policies and practices. During the Water Week, representatives of various countries put forward constructive solutions to the severe water challenges faced by Asia and the world, which gathered many consensus reached by countries on the next step of cooperation, and also provided new opportunities for regional and global cooperation in the field of water conservancy in the future.

At the opening ceremony of the Water Week, Li Guoying, Minister of Water Resources, made a keynote speech. Li Guoying pointed out that in the face of the risks and challenges brought about by the new and old water problems, General Secretary Xi Jinping has pioneered the idea of "giving priority to water conservation, spatial balance, systematic governance, and working with both hands" from the strategic height of realizing the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. Under the guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping's thinking on water control, China has made historic achievements in ensuring flood control, water supply, food security and ecological security, and has achieved fruitful results in practical cooperation with Asian countries in the field of water conservancy. In his keynote speech, Minister Li Guoying called on Asian countries and the international community to work together to promote innovation in concepts, governance, science and technology, and cooperation, strengthen regional cooperation in water governance, and work together to promote future water security.

The participants spoke highly of China's historic achievements in water conservancy under the guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping's idea of "prioritizing water conservation, spatial balance, systematic governance, and working with both hands", and appreciated China's positive contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind and accelerating the implementation of the water-related goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The enthusiastic response to this year's Water Week fully reflects the great concern of Asian countries about water security, and the urgency and challenge of global efforts to combat climate change, ensure water security and promote sustainable development. Looking ahead, water security and sustainable development remain critical issues in Asia and around the world. As Minister Li Guoying said in his keynote speech, the water challenge facing China is also a common challenge for many Asian countries. China is willing to exchange and share ideas, wisdom and experience on water governance with Asian countries, and is willing to work with Asian governments and peoples to strengthen dialogue, enhance mutual trust and work together to contribute more wisdom and solutions to water governance in the Asian region.

Finally, on behalf of the organizer of this Water Week, the Ministry of Water Resources of China, I would like to thank the co-organizer of the Water Council Asia for its full cooperation and mutual support, the representatives of governments, international organizations, relevant institutions, experts and scholars and friends from all walks of life for their comprehensive and in-depth participation in the conference, and all the news media for their attention, coverage and publicity of the conference. We look forward to working with more domestic and foreign partners on a broader water conservancy stage in the future to jointly promote the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Thank you, that's all. Now, my colleagues and I would like to answer your questions.

Diao Lili

Thank you, Vice Minister Li Liangsheng! Now let's move on to the Q&A session, and before asking questions, please raise your hand and inform your news organization, and please start asking questions.

Q&A session

Q&A 1

China Central Radio and Television Station

At the opening ceremony of the 3rd Asia International Water Week, Minister Li Guoying systematically summarized China's achievements in ensuring flood safety, water supply security, food security and ecological security in his keynote speech.

Li Liangsheng

Thank you for your question.

It is the responsibility and goal of our water conservancy people to provide reliable water security for comprehensively promoting the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation with Chinese-style modernization. The Ministry of Water Resources has thoroughly studied and implemented General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on water governance, coordinated the governance of water disasters, water resources, water ecology and water environment, and strived to promote the high-quality development of water conservancy and improve the capacity of water security.

First, the ability to prevent floods and droughts has achieved an overall leap. With the river basin as a unit, we should build a modern flood control engineering system composed of reservoirs, river channels, embankments, and flood storage and detention areas, accelerate the construction of a modern rainwater monitoring and forecasting system, and accelerate the construction of a flood and drought disaster prevention system. In the past decade, China's average annual loss from floods has fallen from 0.51% of GDP in the previous decade to 0.24%.

Second, the way water resources are utilized has achieved profound changes. We have implemented a comprehensive conservation strategy, established and improved water-saving systems and policies, thoroughly implemented national water-saving actions, vigorously promoted water-saving in the whole society, and comprehensively improved the efficiency and effectiveness of water resource utilization. Since 2014, the mainland's GDP has nearly doubled, and the total water consumption has generally stabilized at less than 610 billion cubic meters. Compared with 2014, the water consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP and the water consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value in 2023 will decrease by 41.7% and 55.1% respectively; The efficiency of agricultural water use has continued to improve, and the average water consumption per mu of cultivated land has dropped to less than 350 cubic meters, and the irrigated area and grain output have increased steadily while agricultural water use has remained stable.

Third, the overall allocation pattern of water resources has been optimized. We insist on determining the city, the land, the people, and the production by water, strictly abide by the upper limit of water resources development and utilization, and implement dual control of total water consumption and intensity; On this basis, based on the overall basin and the balanced spatial allocation of water resources, the construction of the national water network was scientifically promoted, which effectively balanced the needs of regional water resources and productivity. At present, the first phase of the eastern and central routes of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project has transported a total of 75.2 billion cubic meters of water, benefiting 185 million people. Since 2014, the water supply capacity of new water conservancy projects in the country has reached about 200 billion cubic meters, the rural tap water penetration rate has reached 90%, the newly improved irrigation area is about 360 million mu, the new high-efficiency water-saving irrigation area is about 150 million mu, and the irrigation area has reached 1.075 billion mu.

Fourth, the appearance of rivers and lakes has been fundamentally improved. We have implemented integrated protection and systematic management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands and sands, and revived the ecological environment of rivers and lakes. Starting from 2022, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal will be fully connected for three consecutive years after a hundred years of interruption, reproducing the thousand-year-old charm of the magnificent canal. A large number of rivers that have been cut off for many years, such as the Yongding River, have been restored to water. Baiyangdian, the once dry "Pearl of North China", has stabilized its water surface area at more than 250 square kilometers in recent years. The downward trend of groundwater level in North China has been curbed and has generally recovered. The national soil and water conservation rate has increased from 69.71% in 2011 to 72.56% in 2023, and the area and intensity of soil erosion have continued to decline. More and more rivers and lakes are becoming more abundant, with better water quality and beautiful scenery.

That's all I have to say, thank you!

Q&A 2

China Daily

The 3rd Asia International Water Week not only showcased the achievements of different countries in the field of water governance, but also provided new opportunities for international cooperation in the field of water resources in the future. What are the practical results of this Water Week? Thank you!

Li Liangsheng

I would like to ask Mr. Duan Hong to answer this question.

The Ministry of Water Resources held a press conference to introduce the results of the 3rd Asia International Water Week

Duan Hong

Thank you for your question.

Focusing on the theme of "Jointly Promoting Future Water Security", the 3rd Asia International Water Week runs through the three pillars of high-level dialogue, business and enterprise, and scientific and technological innovation, and distributes six exchange topics, contributing Chinese wisdom and experience to global and Asian water governance, and comprehensively promoting the "going global" of advanced technologies, equipment and standards in the water field of the mainland.

First, General Secretary Xi Jinping's idea of "giving priority to water conservation, spatial balance, systematic governance, and working with both hands" has been widely recognized and highly praised by Asian countries. China is one of the countries with the most complex water conditions, the most difficult river management and the most arduous water control tasks in the world. Over the years, China has made remarkable achievements in river governance, and China's experience in water management can provide reference for other countries and will bring great benefits to the world's river governance.

The second is to issue the Beijing Declaration - Asian Water Statement of the 3rd Asia International Water Week, reaffirming the importance and irreplaceability of water as a source of life, calling on all countries in the world to share the wisdom of water management, jointly promote the realization of the sustainable development goals related to water, work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind in harmony between man and nature, and unite the common commitment of Asian countries to address water challenges and ensure water security.

The third is to promote the compilation of UNESCO's World Water Science and Technology Report, and call on international organizations, scientific research institutions, universities and enterprises to actively promote technological innovation and product development in the global water field, formulate international technical standards and rules, initiate global scientific and technological innovation issues, promote large-scale scientific research projects, and jointly promote the development of water science and technology in the world and realize the sharing of water technology.

Fourth, more than 10 multilateral and bilateral cooperation agreements have been signed, and a number of Chinese institutions have signed a number of memorandums of cooperation, technical contracts and cooperation agreements with Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia, Nepal, Cambodia, Laos, Viet Nam, Myanmar and other countries, laying a more solid foundation for promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and promoting water-related cooperation between China and Asian countries and even the world.

Through the above practical achievements, this year's Water Week has built a platform for regional exchanges and cooperation in Asia, advocated the implementation of the new development concept, and demonstrated China's willingness to work with the international community to contribute China's wisdom, solutions and strength to jointly promote the reform and development of global water governance, jointly promote the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, and jointly write a new chapter in water governance to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

That's all I have to say, thank you!

Q&A 3

Cover News

The theme of this year's Water Week is "Together for Water Security", which aims to address water security challenges in the context of global climate change through diversified water management cooperation. What are the water security challenges facing Asia in the current context of global climate change? How can China work with Asian countries to address these challenges? Thank you!

Li Liangsheng

I would like to ask Mr. Kim Hae to answer this question.

The Ministry of Water Resources held a press conference to introduce the results of the 3rd Asia International Water Week

Gimhae

Thank you for your question, and I'll answer your question below.

In today's world, in the context of global warming, the water security situation has undergone profound changes, and water security has increasingly become a global challenge. Countries are working hard to effectively address the water challenge. According to the World Meteorological Organization, since 2000, flood-related disasters have increased by 134% compared to the previous 20 years. On the issue of water scarcity, the UN Water Development Report 2024 states that a quarter of the world's population is facing "extremely high" water scarcity pressures, and these regions are already using more than 80% of their water resources. According to data released by the Asian Development Bank in 2022, nearly 500 million people in Asia and the Pacific do not have access to basic water supplies and 1.14 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation.

In addition, the health of the global water ecosystem and water environment is also a cause for concern. According to the United Nations, 44% of domestic sewage is not safely treated. According to a report released by the World Wide Fund for Nature, the world has lost one-third of its wetlands since 1970, and the wildlife population of freshwater plants and animals has declined by an average of 83%. The Asian region is also facing multiple water ecological and water environment problems, such as water pollution, shrinkage and degradation of rivers and lakes, overexploitation of groundwater, soil erosion, and loss of aquatic biodiversity.

China's achievements in water control in recent years have laid a solid foundation for water conservancy to ensure national peace and security, and provided water security support for the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country. Looking back on the past 10 years or so, we also deeply feel that China's historic achievements and changes in water control are fundamentally due to the implementation of General Secretary Xi Jinping's ideas on water control. Practice has also profoundly proved that General Secretary Xi Jinping's thinking on water management can provide Chinese solutions to the water problems faced by Asia and the world.

Focusing on the current water security risks and challenges facing Asia and the world, and based on China's water governance practices and experience, China has actively shared China's water governance wisdom with other countries and provided China's water management solutions based on China's water governance practices and experience. We have worked with developing countries in Asia and the world to implement livelihood projects including the China-Kazakhstan Khorgos River Friendship Joint Water Diversion Hub, as well as "small but beautiful" projects that warm people's hearts such as the Lancang-Ganquan Action Plan, and jointly established small hydropower and other technology joint laboratories with Pakistan and Indonesia, reflecting the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind and effectively improving the well-being of local people.

That's all I have to say, thank you!

Q&A 4

Xinhua

This year's Water Week released the Beijing Declaration – Asia Water Statement for the Third International Water Week for Asia. This statement condensed the consensus of Asian countries on water governance, put forward China's Chinese initiative to solve Asian and global water problems, and the participants highly recognized General Secretary Xi Jinping's idea of water governance. What are the main elements of the Beijing Declaration? How can we promote the implementation of the relevant commitments of the Declaration in the future? Thank you!

Li Liangsheng

Thank you for your question, and I'll answer it.

The most important outcome of this year's Water Week was the opening ceremony, when Li Guoying, Minister of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China, and Yin Xidae, Chairman of the Asian Water Council, jointly signed and released the Beijing Declaration – Asian Water Statement for the Third International Water Week for Asia.

The "Asian Water Statement" is an important outcome document of the previous Asian International Water Weeks, which aims to build consensus on water governance among Asian countries, bring together the experience and wisdom of various countries in water governance, and make Asian voices on hot water issues of global concern, so as to enhance the influence of Asian regions in the global water governance system. In order to reflect China's important contribution as the host country to solving Asia's water problems, this year's Water Week issued the Asian Water Statement in the form of the Beijing Declaration for the first time. The Beijing Declaration highly agrees with General Secretary Xi Jinping's idea of "giving priority to water conservation, spatial balance, systematic governance, and making efforts with both hands", and fully absorbs China's water governance wisdom and solutions such as digital twin water conservancy and river ethics, which can provide concrete, feasible and universally applicable Chinese water governance strategies for solving water problems of general concern to Asian countries.

The Beijing Declaration emphasizes practical actions to ensure future water security in Asia and around the world, and makes commitments in six areas. The first is to strengthen the innovation of water strategy and water policy, establish the concept of giving priority to water conservation, strengthen the integrated management of river basins, and improve the efficiency of water use. The second is to develop digital twins to empower smart water conservancy, and comprehensively improve the refinement level of water resources management through the application of big data, artificial intelligence and digital twin technology. The third is to actively respond to climate change and water-related disasters, formulate effective disaster prevention and climate change adaptation strategies, improve early warning and forecasting systems, and mitigate the impact of water-related disasters caused by climate change. Fourth, we need to coordinate water and food energy security, promote water conservation and efficiency improvement in agriculture, improve the optimal regulation and control function of green and sustainable hydropower, and promote green energy transformation and carbon emission reduction. Fifth, we should protect the water and river basin ecosystems, recognize the concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets", jointly practice river ethics, and promote the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. Sixth, promote the integration and dissemination of knowledge, fully mobilize the participation of all parties, share excellent practical experience and professional knowledge in water control, and excavate, protect, inherit and promote water culture.

The Ministry of Water Resources attaches great importance to water cooperation in Asia, actively implements the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, and has carried out a large number of fruitful and pragmatic projects with Asian countries and relevant international organizations under the framework of high-quality water conservancy cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, which have received positive responses and high praise from all parties concerned. Looking ahead, the Ministry of Water Resources will continue to unswervingly implement Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, actively fulfill the relevant commitments of the Beijing Declaration, exchange and share water management wisdom and experience with Asian countries, and make more contributions to accelerating the implementation of the water-related goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda in the Asian region. Thank you!

Q&A 5

People's Daily Online

We note that during the 10th World Water Forum, the report "River Ethics Construction and Chinese Practice" was officially released, which attracted great attention from the international community. The theme of the third plenary session of the Water Week was "River Protection and Governance - Harmonious Coexistence between Man and Nature". Experts from various countries and international organizations on river basin governance exchanged views on river health and protection, and "river ethics" once again sparked heated discussions. How do you understand the connotation of river ethics? What is the international community's response to this? Thank you!

Li Liangsheng

I would like to ask Ms. Peng Jing to answer this question.

The Ministry of Water Resources held a press conference to introduce the results of the 3rd Asia International Water Week

Peng Jing

Thank you for your question.

China has always attached great importance to the protection and management of rivers and has achieved remarkable results. However, with the rapid development of the economy and the intensification of the impact of global climate change, new and old water problems such as frequent water disasters, water shortages, water environment pollution, and water ecological damage are intertwined, and modern water governance is facing new challenges and new requirements for governance concepts.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has vigorously promoted the theoretical innovation, practical innovation and institutional innovation of ecological civilization from the strategic height of the development and progress of human civilization and the sustainable development of the Chinese nation, and creatively put forward a series of new ideas, new ideas and new strategies, forming Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization.

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to "restore the life of rivers and revitalize river basins", thus giving rivers the concept of life, establishing the status of river morality as the main body, and extending the scope of human moral care to rivers. General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that "it is necessary to shift from changing and conquering nature to adjusting human behavior and correcting human wrong behavior", pointing out the direction for the correct handling and regulation of the values, moral norms and behavioral norms of the relationship between human beings and rivers. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization has scientifically clarified the philosophical ideas on river ethics, which is the fundamental principle for China's river protection and governance in the new era.

Construct river ethics, with the core value of "realizing the harmonious coexistence of people and rivers and supporting the sustainable development of human beings". It emphasizes the overall consideration of the rights and obligations of both people and rivers, the respect for the basic rights of the survival and health of rivers, and the responsibilities and obligations of human beings to protect rivers.

This new paradigm of harmonious coexistence between man and the river, advocated by China and successfully realized in practice, has been highly praised and widely recognized by industry managers, experts and scholars around the world. They said that China has accumulated rich experience in river protection and management and has achieved remarkable results. The Chinese government has made a direct and firm commitment to accelerate the modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and has proposed the construction of river ethics. They highly agreed with China's concept of river ethics and looked forward to its global practice.

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that Chinese modernization is the modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Scientifically standardizing the development and utilization of rivers, adhering to the idea of water control, insisting on determining and measuring water, and insisting on the harmonious coexistence of people and rivers are the proper meaning of water conservancy in Chinese modernization. We sincerely look forward to further strengthening exchanges and cooperation with Asian countries, adhering to openness and sharing, jointly promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and providing Chinese wisdom and experience for further promoting river protection and governance in Asia and other countries around the world.

That's my answer, thank you!

Q&A 6

China Water Conservancy News

"Digital Twin Empowering Smart Water Conservancy" is one of the six sub-themes of this year's Water Week. In the context of digital transformation, the Ministry of Water Resources has strengthened the empowerment of science and technology, promoted the implementation of the "four precautions" measures of forecasting and early warning rehearsal plans, and done a solid job in prevention and response. What are the new developments in strengthening the "four pre-planning" technologies of water conservancy business to promote the construction of smart water conservancy systems? What's next? Thank you.

Li Liangsheng

I would like to ask Mr. Duan Hong to answer this question.

Duan Hong

Thank you for your question.

In recent years, the Ministry of Water Resources has been in accordance with the requirements of smart water conservancy construction of "demand traction, application first, digital empowerment, and capacity improvement", anchored the goal of "extending the prediction period and improving the accuracy of effective unity", coordinated and promoted the construction of a modern rainwater monitoring and forecasting system, and initially built a digital twin water conservancy system with the functions of "four predictions" of forecasting and early warning rehearsal plans, leading the development of new quality productivity of water conservancy, and providing strong support and strong guarantee for flood and drought disaster prevention and emergency handling.

In terms of forecasting, we have strengthened the innovation and application of rainfall forecasting models, production-catchment hydrological models, and flood evolution hydrodynamic models, built a flood forecasting platform with multi-source spatial information fusion, and initially formed a monitoring and forecasting chain covering "sky, ground, and hydraulics" and connecting "rain in clouds, rain on the ground, and floods" to support accurate and advanced forecasting.

In terms of early warning, a multi-stage progressive early warning system has been constructed, such as forecast and early warning, short-term early warning and real-time early warning, and the early warning information can be directly delivered to the public in the front line of defense and affected areas in a timely manner by dynamically adjusting the threshold of early warning indicators and broadening the early warning release channels.

In terms of rehearsal, the river network hydrodynamic forecasting system has been independently innovated and developed, which realizes the rapid modeling function of one- and two-dimensional hydrodynamic models, which can carry out flood evolution forecasting and simulation rehearsal disaster risk based on high-precision data base in the first time, and support forward-looking scientific rehearsal.

In terms of the plan, we have promoted the research of multi-objective optimal scheduling technology for complex water projects, and built an integrated flood forecasting and dispatching system with the functions of "forward calculation" and "reverse calculation", which can deduce the application sequence, application timing and application scale of water projects in the digital flow field, and support the accurate scheduling of "one flow, one reservoir capacity, and one centimeter water level". At the same time, we have also actively explored the use of artificial intelligence large models to carry out the "four pre-plans", and have also achieved preliminary results.

In the next step, we will take digitalization, networking, and intelligence as the main line, and continue to improve the technical level of the "four pre-planning" of water conservancy business through technological empowerment and digital empowerment, and promote the construction of a smart water conservancy system with "four pre-planning" functions.

The first is to implement the digital twin water conservancy "sky, ground and hydraulic engineering" integrated monitoring and perception tamping base to improve energy, and make full use of modern remote sensing and monitoring technologies such as satellite remote sensing, aviation remote sensing, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), rain measurement radars, lidars, and intelligent sensors to further consolidate the foundation of integrated monitoring and perception, improve the intelligent monitoring and perception capabilities of all elements of water conservancy objects and the whole process of governance and management, and provide accurate data support for the "four predictions" of water conservancy business.

The second is to focus on the improvement of the "four predictions" capability of water conservancy business, make full use of the new generation of information technology such as big data and artificial intelligence, accelerate the development of a mathematical model for rainwater analysis and forecasting based on modern hydrological information perception and monitoring data, and carry out the technical research of water engineering tandem and hybrid "backcalculation" based on the digital twin water conservancy system, and strive to extend the prediction period of water forecasting and improve the accuracy of forecasting, so as to achieve accurate and advanced forecasting, rapid and direct early warning, forward-looking and efficient rehearsal, scientific and accurate scheduling, and support winning every tough battle against flood and drought disasters. Thank you!

Q&A 7

China Central Radio and Television CGTN

One of the six sub-themes of this year's Water Week is "Climate Change and Water-related Disasters". In recent years, the water hazards caused by floods caused by extreme weather have been intensifying, and the Chinese government has taken multiple measures to improve its flood and drought disaster prevention capacity and achieved remarkable results. What is the flood control situation this year? What specific measures has the Ministry of Water Resources taken to ensure a safe flood this year? Thank you!

Li Liangsheng

I would like to ask Ms. Peng Jing to answer this question.

Peng Jing

Thank you for your question. As you just mentioned, this year's continental climate is deviated from the annual situation, with many heavy rainfall processes and long durations, river floods that occur early and develop rapidly, and the extreme characteristics are more prominent, with the average rainfall of 604 mm across the country, 10% more than that of the same period in normal years. The major rivers of the mainland have been flooded one after another; A total of 1,280 rivers in 30 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) experienced floods above the warning level, nearly 1 times more than the same period in normal years, of which 288 rivers exceeded the insurance and 67 rivers experienced floods that exceeded the historical measured record.

The Ministry of Water Resources thoroughly implements the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on flood prevention and the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, implements the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, anchors the goal of "no casualties, no dam collapse, no breach of important embankments, and no impact on important infrastructure".

The first is to deploy in advance. Before the flood, a flood and drought disaster prevention work conference was held, and the "Key Points of Flood and Drought Disaster Prevention in 2024" were issued to highlight the key points of defense and fully implement measures. The leaders of the ministry and the chief engineer led the team to carry out the inspection of flood preparedness and in-depth investigation of risks and hidden dangers. After the flood season began on 1 April, the water conservancy department immediately entered the state of flood prevention work.

The second is to pre-word. Accelerate the construction of the "three lines of defense" for rainwater monitoring and forecasting, which are composed of meteorological satellite rain radars, rainfall gauge stations, hydrological stations, rainfall production and confluence, and flood evolution models, so as to achieve effective unity in extending the flood prediction period and improving the accuracy of flood forecasting. A total of 4,266 flood warnings and 141 meteorological warnings for flash floods have been issued across the country, and 31.56 million flash flood warning text messages have been sent to those responsible for flood control and 2.4 billion to the public, winning opportunities for flood prevention and evacuation and evacuation.

The third is scientific research and judgment. The Ministry of Water Resources has strengthened the "four precautions" measures of forecasting and early warning and rehearsal plans, relying on the digital twin water conservancy system to track and dynamically rehearse the evolution and risk of floods, providing strong support for flood prevention and danger handling.

Fourth, strengthen guidance. Since the beginning of the flood season, daily rolling meetings have been held to discuss and judge, and the risk will be warned to rivers, reservoirs, villages, and responsible persons day by day. Li Guoying, deputy commander-in-chief of the National Defense General and Minister of Water Resources, presided over 22 flood prevention meetings and went to Jiangxi, Hunan, Beijing and other places for front-line guidance on flood control 4 times. Flood and drought disaster prevention and emergency response was launched 39 times in a timely manner, and 139 working groups were dispatched to assist and guide local governments in their defense work.

Fifth, scientific scheduling. Adhere to the river basin a game of chess, systematically, scientifically, safely and accurately strengthen the unified joint dispatch of water projects in the basin, coordinate the upstream and downstream, left and right banks, and main and tributaries, and finely dispatch the backbone water projects in the basin with "one flow, one reservoir capacity, and one centimeter water level". Since the beginning of the flood season, 6,441 sub-large and medium-sized reservoirs in the seven major river basins have impounded and stored a total of 142.559 billion cubic meters of floodwater, giving full play to the role of reservoirs in flood control and peak staggering, effectively reducing the flood control pressure in downstream areas and effectively ensuring the safety of people's lives and property.

Sixth, innovation mechanism. Formulate and issue implementation opinions to accelerate the construction of a "three-in-one" flood and drought disaster prevention work system of responsibility implementation, decision support, and dispatch and command; Sort out and optimize the handling process of major incidents, formulate and release the dispatch and command mechanism for major flood and drought disasters of the Ministry of Water Resources, and respond to major flood and drought disasters quickly, orderly and efficiently. The Disaster Reduction Center of the Ministry of Water Resources has formulated a technical support mechanism for major flood and drought disaster events, giving full play to the advantages of technical units to ensure that comprehensive support is provided at the first time. After the occurrence of major dangers, the Ministry of Water Resources quickly activated the dispatch and command mechanism for major flood and drought disasters, discussed and judged the deployment at the first time, dispatched working groups and expert groups to the scene as soon as possible, established a coordination and linkage mechanism between the front and rear, and fully supported local rescue and disaster relief.

Water conservancy departments at all levels have made concerted efforts, united and cooperated, successfully coped with many torrential rains and floods, effectively dealt with various flood disasters, minimized the impact and losses of disasters, and achieved important phased results in flood prevention and flood control. Thank you!

Q&A 8

People's Political Consultative Conference Daily

As a country with a large population, China faces a serious challenge to drinking water security, and at the same time, we have made significant and positive progress in addressing this challenge. I would like to ask what experience and achievements China has made in solving the problem of drinking water security in rural areas? Thank you!

Li Liangsheng

I would like to ask Mr. Kim Hae to answer this question.

Gimhae

Thank you for your question, and I will answer your question.

The safety of drinking water in rural areas is related to people's livelihood and well-being, and is the most concerning, direct and realistic livelihood event for the rural people. In 2009, China achieved the goal of halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015, as set out in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, six years ahead of schedule. In accordance with current standards, China has comprehensively solved the problem of drinking water safety for rural residents in 2020, and the quality and convenience of rural water supply have been significantly improved, which has effectively promoted the equalization of basic public services for urban and rural residents. According to data from UNICEF and the World Health Organization, China's rural tap water penetration rate is at the leading level among developing countries, and it is the country with the greatest efforts to improve the drinking water situation of rural people since the beginning of the 21st century, making outstanding contributions to the realization of the water-related goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Ministry of Water Resources has conscientiously implemented the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on rural drinking water safety, regarded rural drinking water safety as an important symbol of consolidating the achievements of poverty alleviation and promoting the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas, and continued to promote the high-quality development of rural water supply. China's experience and practices are mainly reflected in the following five aspects:

The first is to strengthen the top-level design. The Ministry of Water Resources has established and improved the policy guarantee and technical standard system for rural drinking water safety from water sources to taps, issued the "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the High-quality Development of Rural Water Supply", and put forward the "3+1" standardized construction and management model of rural water supply ("3" is to give priority to promoting the integration of urban and rural water supply and the scale of centralized water supply in terms of engineering construction, and standardize the construction and transformation of small water supply projects according to local conditions; "1" is to highlight the project management, take the county as a unit to promote the county unified management and implement professional management), and strive to use another 3-5 years to initially form a high-quality development pattern of rural water supply with perfect system layout, intensive and safe facilities, standardized and professional management and protection, and high-quality and efficient services.

The second is to improve the layout of the project. Priority should be given to promoting the integration of urban and rural water supply, and vigorously developing the scale of centralized water supply in areas that cannot be extended and covered by the urban water supply network in the short term. For areas that cannot be included in the scope of urban and rural water supply integration and large-scale water supply, the standardized construction and transformation of small-scale water supply projects shall be implemented in accordance with local conditions. By the end of 2023, there were 5.63 million rural water supply projects across the country, serving 870 million rural people, with 90% of rural piped water coverage and 60% of the rural population covered by large-scale water supply projects.

The third is to implement county-level unified management. Coordinate all links in the whole chain of water sources, water plants, pipe networks, and users, and promote unified management, monitoring, operation and maintenance, and unified services at the county level, so as to achieve full coverage of professional management of rural water supply. Fully implement the "three responsibilities" of the main body of the county government for rural water supply management, the industry supervision of the water conservancy department, and the operation and management of water supply units, and the "three systems" of county-level rural water supply project operation and management institutions, methods and funds, so as to ensure that each project is managed by a system, a person, and a money.

Fourth, strengthen investment guarantees. The state uses special subsidies for poverty alleviation and other funds to focus on supporting the construction of rural water supply projects in various localities, including the maintenance and maintenance of rural water supply projects in the scope of central financial subsidies, and introducing a series of financial support policies to attract bank loans and social capital investment. Since 2021, 397.9 billion yuan has been invested in the construction of rural water supply projects, consolidating and improving the water supply security level of 280 million rural people.

Fifth, strengthen dynamic monitoring. Improve the mechanism for rapid discovery, response and resolution of rural water supply problems, ensure that rural water supply problems are dynamically cleared, and strengthen the bottom line of rural drinking water safety. It has established and improved the emergency water supply guarantee system for both peacetime and emergency purposes, effectively coping with severe floods and droughts such as the historically rare drought in the Yangtze River basin in 2022 and the catastrophic flood in the Haihe River basin in 2023, and effectively ensuring the drinking water safety of rural people.

That's all I have to say. Thank you!

Diao Lili

I would like to thank Vice Minister Li Liangsheng and several other publishers, and thank you for your long-term concern and support for the press release work of the Ministry of Water Resources. That's the end of today's press conference, goodbye.

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