China will strive to complete the overall layout of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project as soon as possible to ensure long-term water security, according to a senior official with the Ministry of Water Resources.
Thursday marks the 10th anniversary of the operations of the eastern and central routes of the water diversion project, which has become a vital water lifeline for northern cities like Beijing and Tianjin.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday, Wang Daoxi, Vice Minister of Water Resources, noted that as of today, the eastern and central routes of the project have transferred over 76.5 billion cubic meters of water to drought-prone northern regions, greatly improving water supply for both domestic and industrial use in cities along the routes, with the number of beneficiaries continuing to rise each year.
The project's water supply now benefits approximately 185 million people in 45 large and medium-sized cities, with its reach expanding from urban areas to rural regions.
The economical and efficient use of water resources in the water-receiving areas has been comprehensively improved, with overall water utilization efficiency ranking among the top in the country.
Measures such as water source replacement and ecological water replenishment of rivers and lakes have contributed to a general rise in groundwater levels in north China, with many rivers and lakes regaining vitality.
"The ministry will intensively implement the guideline on national water network construction, accelerate the construction of the national water network's main framework and major arteries, and complete the overall layout of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project as soon as possible. This will ensure that clear water keeps flowing northward, and guarantee water security for building a great country and advancing national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernization," Wang said.
The South-to-North Water Diversion Project has three routes: a central route, an eastern route and a western route.
The central route, which is the most prominent, begins at the Danjiangkou Reservoir in central China's Hubei Province and runs through Henan and Hebei before reaching Beijing and Tianjin. The eastern route transfers water from east China's Jiangsu Province to areas such as Tianjin and Shandong. The western route is yet to be built.
Ministry vows further advance of mega water diversion project
China's economy has maintained a generally stable growth in 2024, with impressive achievements made in the development of manufacturing and new quality productive forces, said economists.
The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting on Dec 9 to analyze and study economic work in 2025. The meeting noted that the year 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and a critical year for achieving the goals and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).
From a macro perspective, China's economic operation has maintained generally stable with steady progress in 2024, and the main goals of social and economic development will be successfully achieved.
"In 2024, China's macro-economy have shown signs of stabilization on the basis of continued structural adjustment, and with the growth rate, the country will be able to achieve the annual target of around 5 percent," said Liu Yuanchun, President of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.
In 2024, China's industrial structure has continued to upgrade in high-quality development, laying a solid foundation for the stable economic development.
In the first three quarters, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size (those with annual main business revenue of 20 million yuan or more) increased by 5.8 percent year on year. Among them, the added value of equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing industries above designated size increased by 7.5 percent and 9.1 percent year on year, respectively.
"Our manufacturing industry has maintained a relatively strong growth, and the strongest performing industries among them are high-tech manufacturing and high-end equipment manufacturing," said Wu Sa, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research.
In 2024, China has witnessed steady development of new quality productive forces
Wu said that it not only promoted the development of emerging industries and future industries, but also empowered traditional industries and provided new impetus for the construction of a modern industrial system.
"For example, at the Zhuhai Air Show that just ended, we saw the debut of many high-tech products, including humanoid robots and dog robots, as well as some low-altitude economic and low-altitude aircraft. These are all very vivid examples of the development of our new quality productive forces. It not only simply indicates the success of these products, but also indicates that we have laid a more solid foundation for building a modern industrial system, and the overall momentum and driving mechanism of development have become better," Wu said.
China's economy maintains stable growth in 2024 with impressive achievements: economists
