China’s Water Efficiency Rises 4.5% in Green Transition
China’s water consumption per 10,000 yuan of gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 4.5% year-on-year in 2025, according to the latest China Water Resources Bulletin released by the Ministry of Water Resources. The improvement — alongside a sharper 7.2% drop in industrial water intensity — signals that the world’s second-largest economy is making measurable progress in decoupling resource consumption from economic growth.
The Numbers Behind the Trend
The bulletin, published on June 30 and reported by Xinhua, shows that water consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP fell from 44.4 cubic meters in 2024 to 42.4 cubic meters in 2025. Total water use for the year stood at 594.45 billion cubic meters — equivalent to roughly 15 Three Gorges Reservoirs — while total water resources reached 2.72 trillion cubic meters.
Agriculture remains the dominant consumer at 62% of total water use (368.38 billion cubic meters), followed by industry at 16% (95.37 billion cubic meters) and domestic use at 15.8% (93.66 billion cubic meters). Notably, industrial water consumption actually decreased by 1.73 billion cubic meters year-on-year, even as agricultural use rose by 3.54 billion cubic meters and domestic use increased by 980 million cubic meters.
Decoupling Growth from Consumption
The 4.5% decline is particularly significant because it occurred alongside continued economic expansion and record grain harvests. As the State Council noted, this “decoupling” of water consumption from economic output is a hallmark of China’s transition toward higher-quality development.
Cumulative gains under the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025) are even more striking. Compared to the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, water consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP has dropped 17.7%, while industrial water intensity has fallen 23.6%. China has maintained near-zero growth in total water consumption throughout the entire five-year period despite its economy expanding and grain output reaching new highs.
How China Is Saving Water
The improvements stem from a multi-pronged strategy combining regulation, technology, and market mechanisms. According to People’s Daily, China has piloted “water budget management” — treating water like a financial budget — and introduced “water conservation loans” to fund efficiency projects. The government has also released 194 nationally applicable water-saving technologies and 150 encouraged industrial water conservation techniques.
Infrastructure has played a crucial role. By the end of 2024, China had built 95,000 reservoirs, 200 large- and medium-sized water diversion projects, and 318,000 kilometers of dikes — forming what officials describe as the world’s largest water conservancy system. The effective utilization coefficient of farmland irrigation water has risen from 0.565 to 0.583, and the leakage rate of urban public water supply networks has fallen to within 10%.
The Challenge That Remains
China’s water scarcity is structural. The country holds only 6% of the world’s freshwater resources but sustains nearly 20% of the global population and generates over 18% of global economic output. Per capita water resources are just 35% of the world average, and nearly 70% of urban agglomerations, over 90% of energy bases, and more than 60% of major grain-producing areas are located in water-scarce regions.
As a Ministry of Water Resources official warned in December 2025, China still faces severe water scarcity challenges during the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), urging the integration of water-saving measures across all sectors of economic and social development.
What’s Next: 15th Five-Year Plan Targets
Looking ahead, China has set ambitious goals. By 2030, water consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP and industrial added value must drop by more than 10% from 2025 levels. The water-saving industry — encompassing technologies, equipment, and services — is expected to exceed 1.2 trillion yuan in scale.
Regional examples point the way. In Yulin, Shaanxi, a mine water utilization pipeline network is replacing high-quality freshwater with treated mine water for industrial use. In Yantai, Shandong, authorities are strictly controlling high-water-consumption enterprises while promoting recycling and water-saving processes.
Ecological restoration is also a priority. Artificial ecological water replenishment reached 370.4 billion cubic meters in 2025, accounting for 6.2% of total water use. This has helped restore flow to rivers that had been dry for years, including the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the Yongding River, and the West Liao River.
The data tells a clear story: China is learning to do more with less. The question now is whether it can accelerate that progress fast enough to meet its 2030 targets — and whether other water-stressed economies can follow a similar path.