Resource information
China has very serious water problems
despite substantial economic development achievements,
strong technical expertise, and political stability. But in
terms of its potential and the critical pressing needs for
water resources management, China could do much better in
managing its water resources. The World Bank's
assistance to China in water resources development and
management in the past has tended to be reactive and
downstream in the project cycle. However, this approach has
significantly limited the potential benefits of Bank
assistance to China which a more upstream approach, based on
a strategic partnership, could provide. The overall
strategic objective is to improve water resources
management. This strategy paper identifies China's
principal water resource challenges, what China is already
doing, and how the Bank can assist in the future. The large
size of the Bank's water portfolio and the urgency of
the problems, demand a strategic framework for the
Bank's support to China. In 2002, the Bank and the
Chinese Government are cooperating on the evaluation of the
last, and preparation of the new, country assistance
strategy. In October 2002, China promulgated a new water
law, has recently prepared a new five-year plan, and is
updating the master plans for the major river basins. The
Bank hopes it can assist China in improving its water
resources management, and accelerate implementation of
reforms through a shared Country Water Resources Assistance
Strategy (CWRAS).
