China will press ahead with the world's largest water diversion project and 
prioritize water conservation in the process. 

As the country pursues green and high-quality development, efforts should be 
made to advance the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in a scientific 
manner and promote the effective and economical use of water resources, Chinese 
President Xi Jinping said Friday. 

Xi made the remarks at a symposium on advancing the high-quality follow-up 
development of the project in Nanyang, central China's Henan Province, 
following an inspection tour that began on Wednesday. 

He called for safeguarding ecological security and promoting balanced spatial 
distribution of water resources in the country.

3,000 West Lakes, 120 million people

The South-to-North Water Diversion Project links the Yangtze River, the Huaihe 
River, the Yellow River and the Haihe River. It is aimed at providing a 
permanent solution to the water shortage in northern China by diverting water 
from the country's water-rich southern regions. 

The grand project consists of three routes, among which the first phase the 
eastern and middle routes went into operation in 2013 and 2014 respectively. 
The western route is still at a pre-construction stage. 

As of early April, the project had transferred 41.8 billion cubic meters of 
water to the northern areas, which was equivalent to the water volume of nearly 
3,000 West Lakes – a renowned scenic area in Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang 
Province. More than 120 million people had directly benefited from the project.

Xi's inspection tour and the symposium came at a time when China gears up for 
planning and implementing the next stage of the project. According to the 
Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social 
Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035, efforts will 
be made to advance the follow-up development of the eastern and middle routes 
of the project and the appraisal of plans for the western route. 

Elaborating on how to advance the project in a scientific manner, Xi called for 
efforts to strengthen demand and supply management, maximize overall benefits 
of the project, prioritize water conservation and enhance the protection of 
ecological environment. He also called for accelerating efforts to build a 
national water network and ensure national water security.

Xi hails sacrifice by resettled residents

The place where President Xi chose to convene the meeting is of great 
significance to the water diversion project. Located in the southwest of Henan 
Province bordering Hubei Province, Nanyang is the starting point of the middle 
route, which carries water from Danjiangkou Reservoir in central China through 
Henan and Hebei provinces all the way to Beijing and Tianjin in the north. 

More than 40 big and medium-sized cities receive water from the project, and in 
Beijing, around 70 percent of the tap water is pumped in through the middle 
route.

More than 345,000 people living in Danjiangkou Reservoir area have moved to 
more than 600 government-built villages to make way for the project. Xi went to 
one of those villages to visit the relocated residents on Thursday. 

In the village of Zouzhuang in Xichuan County, he hailed the spirit of 
sacrifice of the villagers and wished them a better life. The resettled 
residents deserve the thanks from those who benefit from the project and people 
across the nation, he said. 

At Friday's symposium, Xi urged authorities to work out economical plans for 
the next phase of the project and minimize the number of people that need to be 
relocated.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-05-14/Xi-convenes-symposium-on-advancing-water-diversion-project-development-10g4Sd3Te5W/index.html


Source: CGTN