Rural residents get access to safe water

Supplies to 270m people improved in past 5 years, minister tells media

In the past five years, China has managed to ensure safe drinking water for its rural residents, Water Resources Minister Li Guoying said on Thursday.

"The difficulties in getting drinking water that have plagued many rural poor for generations have been solved once and for all," he told a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office.

He said that during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period, China managed to address problems that jeopardized the safety of drinking water for 17.1 million rural residents who were previously registered as poverty-stricken.