Eighty years of Yellow River management underpin China's growth

The Yellow River, with only 2 percent of China's total water resources, supports the water needs of 12 percent of the country's population and 17 percent of its farmlands, underpinning 14 percent of the national economy, a senior water resources official said on Friday.

Wang Bao'en, vice-minister of water resources, made the remarks at a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office on the topic "80 years of Yellow River management".

Over the past eight decades, the Ministry of Water Resources and provincial-level regions along the river have advanced large-scale water conservancy development, Wang said.

More than 54,000 projects have been built to improve water supply, support economic development and enhance ecological protection.

Resources from the river have been scientifically developed and utilized to support agriculture, industry and urban development, Wang said.

Cross-basin water diversion projects, including those supplying Tianjin municipality and Hebei province and Qingdao in Shandong province, as well as the Han-to-Wei River diversion project, have helped ease regional water shortages and improve the environment in ecologically fragile areas.

The Yellow River basin has also made progress in water conservation and demand management, Wang said. It was among the first regions in China to establish a mandatory water-use quota system, while authorities have promoted the efficient use of water and strengthened controls on consumption.