2015 Qingdao International Conference on Desalination and Water Reuse is held in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Alleviating water shortages with desalinated sea water is one of the topics of the 2015 Qingdao International Conference on Desalination and Water Reuse, which kicked off on Tuesday in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province.

Themed Desalination: Innovation Driven and Green Development, the three-day event attracted over 700 experts, scholars, and entrepreneurs from 20 countries and regions.

It is sponsored by the China Association for Science and Technology and the Qingdao municipal people's government. . Qingdao has hosted the international conference nine times.

This year's event consists of 20 sessions on 15 subjects, including development of China’s water purification industry, innovation and development of seawater desalination technology.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Zhang Qin, vice-president of the China Association for Science and Technology, said the water resources shortage is quite severe in China, and the contradiction between the water supply and need is becoming more serious in Chinese coastal areas.

"Therefore, the development of the sea water desalination industry is significant to alleviate the water resources shortage," Zhang said.

Sea water desalination in China is an industry that has witnessed healthy and fast development in recent years. According to Zhang, 111 sea water desalination projects had been completed by the end of 2014, with daily capacity of desalinated water reaching 924,000 tons. That’s an 8.25 percent increase from the previous year.

Helmut Kroiss, president of the International Water Association, said water recycling is becoming an increasingly relevant management tool in locations where water availability is limiting urban development.

"Technology for water recycling can be combined with recycling of valuable waste water compounds but is not bound to it," he added.