National water strategy to focus more on conservation

Rather than concentrating chiefly on controlling pollution, China plans to focus more on the conservation of aquatic ecosystems as it endeavors to improve the governance of its water environments, according to a recent guideline.

The goal is to raise the proportion of surface water of fairly good quality to 85 percent by 2025, an increase of 1.6 percentage points from 2020, according to the Guideline on Water Ecology and Environmental Protection in Major River Basins.

Unveiled by five national departments, including the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the National Development and Reform Commission on Friday, the document also said that China plans to eliminate surface water below Grade V quality by 2025.