CNR:

As we know, Ningxia is relatively short of water resources, with per capita water resources less than one-third of the national average. How did Ningxia overcome this bottleneck in its development process? Thank you.

Zhang Yupu:

I will answer this question. Water is a major issue in Ningxia. As we all know, Ningxia consists of arid and semi-arid areas, and per capita water resources are significantly lower than the national average. In the course of high-quality development, we have always regarded water resources as the core resource and key element of Ningxia's development. Especially, continuous industrial and economic development has prompted increasing water consumption, which is directly related to Ningxia's future development. Therefore, we have vigorously implemented the principle of planning urban development, land use, population growth, and industrial structure based on water resources as the determinant. This work has achieved remarkable results. Specifically, the principle can be expressed vividly, as the general secretary once said, "make the right amount of croutons for the soup." As the first and currently the only provincial region in the country to implement this principle all over its jurisdiction, we took the lead in issuing a specific implementation plan. We focused on water conservation, water control, and water usage, identifying 40 evaluation indicators, 80 key tasks, and 100 water conservancy projects, clearly defining the overall arrangement, goals and policies. After unremitting efforts, this work has achieved phased results. For example, we have strengthened the rigid constraints on water resources and implemented comprehensive management from the source to the tap, creating a good atmosphere with people paying attention to water saving in all circumstances. By the end of 2023, all prefecture-level cities in Ningxia had met national standards for water-saving cities. Ningxia's water usage per 10,000 yuan of GDP and water consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial value added have met the objectives set by the 14th Five-Year Plan ahead of schedule. Additionally, there are some landmark advances. We were the first to create a demonstration zone for internet-facilitated urban and rural water supply, the first to establish an ecological compensation mechanism with the upper and lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin, and the first to realize cross-provincial water right transactions. Our Ningdong Energy Chemical Industry Base completed China's first inter-provincial water rights transaction with the Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture in Sichuan, achieving excellent results and marking a new step towards marketization. A national on-site meeting on the high-quality development of rural water supply was recently held in Ningxia. The region's experience in planning urban development, land use, population growth, and industrial structure based on water resources has also been included in the training materials for senior officials nationwide. Notably, our water-saving experience was shared at the United Nations Water Conference.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the principle of planning urban development, land use, population growth, and industrial structure based on water resources being proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping. This year is also a new starting point, from where we will accelerate the construction of the demonstration zone for implementing this principle to provide safer and more reliable water security for Ningxia's high-quality development. Additionally, we will strive to leverage the role of the demonstration zone to provide useful water-saving experiences for the whole country. Thank you.