On December 1, 2025, the 19th World Water Congress commenced in Marrakech, Morocco, with the theme of “Water in a Changing World: Innovation and Adaptation”. Mr. Li Guoying, Minister of Water Resources, led the Chinese delegation to attend its opening ceremony and delivered a speech.
Li Guoying pointed out that China’s basic water situation has always been characterized in summer flooding and winter drought as well as water scarcity in the north and abundance in the south. In the meantime, the spatio-temporal distribution of water resources is highly uneven, and the structural contradiction between water supply and demand is particularly acute. Under the guidance of President Xi Jinping’s water governance principles of “prioritizing water conservation, balancing spatial distribution, taking systematic approaches and promoting government-market synergy”, China has significantly upgraded its capabilities in flood and disaster prevention, water conservation and intensive utilization, optimal allocation of water resources, ecological protection and rehebilitation of rivers and lakes, and modernized water governance. Hence, the historic achievements and transformations have been realized in water sector.
Li Guoying emphasized that in the current world, global climate change, particularly the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, poses severe challenges to water security, requiring a collective response from all humanity. The 4th Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China approved the proposal for China’s national economic and social development plan for the next five years. Ministry of Water Resources of China will focus on promoting high-quality water development and implementing a series of major measures related to water construction, management and reform outlined in the proposal, so as to provide a strong water security guarantee for advancing Chinese modernization. Under the guidances of the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative, Ministry of Water Resources of China stands ready to join hands with all parties from the world to advance innovations in water governance concepts, institutions, policies, science and technology, and methodologies, jointly composing a new chapter in water governance for building a community with a shared future for mankind.
The World Water Congress is one of the academic conferences in the global water sector with the broadest participation, widest influence and highest professional standards. Moreover, it also serves as an important international platform for sharing global water agendas, water policies and water scientific knowledge. This congress attracted more than 2,000 representatives from over 80 countries and regions as well as more than 10 international organizations.
Source: INTCE