According to the News of NDRC on July 22, the NDRC and other five departments have issued a guidance on accelerating the development of water-saving industry. The guidance proposes to support enterprises in increasing the R&D, design, and production of water-saving products and equipment that range from basic raw materials to terminal consumer goods, promoting the digitalization, intelligence, and green development of water-saving product and equipment manufacturing.

Original text:

NDRC and other departments' guidance on accelerating the development of water-saving industry.

Guidance on accelerating the development of water-saving industry.

Environmental Protection [2024] No. 898.

Development and Reform Commissions, Water Resources (Water Affairs) Departments (Bureaus), Industrial and Information Departments, Housing and Urban-Rural Development Departments (Committees, Administrations, Bureaus), Agriculture and Rural (Animal Husbandry) Departments (Bureaus, Committees) of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:

With the deepening of the water-saving society, the water-saving industry, mainly consisting of manufacturing of water-saving products and equipment and consulting of water-saving management services, is continuously expanding in scale, which has become an important part of new production forces and green economy. Accelerating the development of water-saving industry is of great significance to promoting the formation of water-saving production and living styles, improving the level of water resource conservation and intensive utilization, and promoting the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. To comprehensively implement the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress and deeply practice the water governance thought of “prioritizing water-saving measures, balancing space development, system governance, and coordinate planning,” this guidance proposes to promote water-saving efficiency improvement through the development of water-saving industry and presents the following opinions.

I. General requirements

Guided by ****'s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, implementing the strategy of comprehensive conservation, insisting on coordinating the role of government and market mechanism, and driving the effective connection between supply and demand ends of water-saving industry market, promoting technological innovation and effective supply of products and equipment, and continuously improving the level of water resource conservation and intensive utilization through high-quality development of water-saving industry. By 2027, the scale of water-saving industry will reach trillion yuan, cultivating a group of “specialized, special and new” small and medium-sized enterprises and initially establishing a water-saving industry development pattern with enterprises as the main body, market orientation, innovation as the driving force, and integration of production, learning, research and application. By 2035, a group of billion-yuan leading enterprises will be cultivated, and water-saving technology, process, product and equipment manufacturing and management services will reach the world's advanced level, and the water-saving production and living style will be fully formed.

II. Stimulate the driving force for the development of water-saving industry

(1) Implement rigid constraint system for water resources. Strengthen the management of water consumption control indicators at the provincial, municipal and county levels, strengthen the government's water-saving responsibilities, and give full play to the role of water users as the main body of water conservation. In areas of severe water shortage and over-extraction of groundwater, high water-consumption industrial projects should be strictly controlled and the construction of high water-consumption industrial projects that do not comply with national industrial policies should be prohibited and phased out. Establish a scientific and reasonable water-saving evaluation standard, and new, rebuilt and expanded projects should meet the requirements of water-saving standards. Improve the water resources monitoring system and strictly regulate water use. Establish a multi-department joint law enforcement mechanism to seriously investigate illegal water use behaviors.

(2) Strengthen water-saving management in key areas. Promote the full coverage of planned water use management of industrial and service water use units above the national annual water use scale. Strengthen the supervision of key water-consuming units and carry out water efficiency benchmarking. Strictly control water use in high water-consuming service industries such as bathing, car washing, laundry, and hotels, actively promote water cycling and cascade utilization. Actively develop water-saving irrigation, promote the construction of water-saving irrigation engineering facilities, and the irrigation engineering facilities should meet the requirements of water-saving technical standards. Carry out public water supply pipe network leakage management and actively promote unconventional water development and utilization. Promote water-saving transformation of public institutions and places, and new, rebuilt, or expanded public buildings should use water-saving products that comply with national standards and give priority to purchasing and using first-class water-efficient products.

(3) Improve water-saving laws and regulations. Actively implement the Regulations on Water Conservation, encourage localities to formulate local water-saving regulations according to local conditions, improve the local water-saving institutional policy system, and strengthen the main responsibility of water use. Accelerate the research and establishment of water-saving statistical system. Around the water-saving industry, a standard system of different levels including national, industry, local, groups, and enterprises should be established. Speed up the revision of water-saving standards and promote the connection of water-saving standards with international standards. Establish a dynamic updating mechanism for water use quotas, improve the water efficiency classification standards for terminal water use products, and accelerate the formulation of a batch of leading standards for the development of water-saving industry, such as technology, process, equipment, testing, evaluation, management, and services, and encourage enterprises to establish more rigorous enterprise standards.

(4) Improve the water-saving market mechanism. Fully implement the progressive increase in price for non-residential water use beyond the quota and the tiered water price system for residential water use, and reasonably determine the water consumption at different levels. Fully promote comprehensive reform of agricultural water prices, actively implement graded water prices, and improve the precise subsidy and water-saving incentive mechanism for agricultural water use. Improve and perfect the relevant market mechanism for the development and utilization of unconventional water, and promote market-oriented transactions of unconventional water. Improve the water right system and promote water right trading in various forms such as inter-basin, inter-regional, inter-sectoral, and inter-water user according to local conditions.

III. Strengthen the supply of water-saving products and equipment.

(V) Promote the upgrading of water-saving product equipment. Support companies to increase R&D, design, and production, build a water-saving product equipment supply system from basic raw materials to end consumer products, and promote the digitalization, intelligence, and green development of water-saving product equipment manufacturing. Regularly release the "National Promotion Catalogue of Mature and Applicable Water-Saving Technologies" and the "National Encouraged Industrial Water-Saving Process, Technology, and Equipment Catalogue", formulate a national water-saving product certification directory and integrate it into the green product certification and labeling system. Promote advanced water-saving equipment and products, promote large-scale water-saving equipment upgrades and consumer product replacements, and accelerate the elimination of outdated water products and equipment. Continuously promote the selection of water-use product water efficiency leaders and establish water efficiency benchmarks for water-saving products.

(VI) Strengthen the supervision and management of water-saving product quality. Strictly implement the water-saving product quality supervision and inspection and water efficiency marking management system, strengthen the quality spot check of water-saving products, urge water-saving product equipment manufacturing enterprises to strictly organize production in accordance with technical standard requirements, and crackdown on water efficiency false labeling and certification results fraud and other behaviors in accordance with the law. Strengthen the integrity system construction of water-saving product enterprises, improve the credit records of water-saving product production enterprises in accordance with laws and regulations, and strengthen the public disclosure of product quality information. Fully play the role of social supervision, and increase the punishment for untrustworthy enterprises.

IV. Innovative water-saving management service models

(****igorously promote contract water-saving management. Promote contract water-saving management in high-water-consumption industries and fields, encourage the exploration of innovative water-saving management models. Adopt service purchase and trusteeship models to carry out contract water-saving management in public institutions such as government offices, schools, and hospitals. Encourage the use of social capital participation in contract water-saving management in public buildings such as office buildings, shopping malls, airports, and stations. Promote contract water-saving management renovation in high-water-consumption service industries. In high-water-consumption industrial enterprises and parks such as thermal power, steel, textiles, papermaking, petrochemicals, and chemicals, strengthen water balance testing services, promote the use of recycled water, build seawater desalination projects according to local conditions, promote water-saving transformation of cooling systems, process reconstruction, and intelligent system control, and explore the implementation of contract water-saving management. Expand the market for efficient water-saving irrigation, water supply pipeline leakage control, and water environment governance, and innovate contract water-saving management models. Promote cooperation between water-saving enterprises and higher education institutions, scientific research institutes, etc., and cultivate a group of third-party service enterprises that provide comprehensive solutions for water-saving design consulting, system integration, facility construction, operation management, and digital transformation.

(VIII) Strengthen water metering and monitoring management. Improve the water extraction metering and monitoring and value tracing system, and strengthen the precise metering control of water supply and use. Promote the online water metering system for different water sources and uses. Promote the zoning metering management of water supply enterprises. Implement intelligent water-use control in high-water-consumption enterprises, industrial parks, and large and medium-sized irrigation areas. Strengthen digital empowerment, promote the deep integration of technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and digital twins with water system management technologies, explore the typical application scenarios of "Internet Plus Water Conservation Management", and achieve precise water control. Accelerate the construction of national water resource metering stations, promote regular calibration and calibration of water extraction metering facilities, and improve water extraction metering management capabilities.

V. Give full play to the leading role of leading enterprises

(IX) Actively cultivate key water-saving enterprises. Focus on promoting the incubation, cultivation, and strengthening of water-saving enterprises, and increase efforts to cultivate SMEs with "specialization, expertise, and newness". Promote the formation of a group of water-saving product and equipment manufacturing enterprises and service enterprises with strong innovation capabilities, high management levels, and international competitiveness in the fields of water-saving design research and development, product and equipment manufacturing, engineering construction, and management services, etc., to form a group of leading enterprises, and create a group of industrial brands with great influence and strong driving force. Give full play to the main engine role of industrial chain aggregation and radiation in leading enterprises, strengthen the synergy and support of industrial chain supply chains, and create a good industrial ecology for the integration and development of enterprises of different ownership types and sizes. Select a group of key water-use industry water efficiency leaders, promote enterprise benchmarking and standardization, and improve water-use efficiency.

(X) Encourage the development of water-saving industry clusters. Encourage localities to create water-saving industry clusters with regional characteristics based on their own needs and advantages. In areas with strong innovation elements and a strong manufacturing base, vigorously develop water-saving equipment manufacturing industry clusters. In the water-scarce areas of northwest China, the rainy areas of the south, and high-water-consumption industry gathering areas in the Yellow River Basin, cultivate and form a group of specialized water-saving service enterprises around water-saving irrigation, equipment manufacturing, storage and flood control, industrial water-saving transformation, etc. Support localities with conditions to build water-saving industrial parks.

VI. Promote water-saving industry technological innovation

(XI) Encourage technological research and development and application of results. Support scientific research institutes, universities, leading enterprises, and industry associations to carry out basic research and applied technology innovation in water saving, promote core technology breakthroughs, and strengthen water-saving technology system integration. Strengthen collaborative research on industry technology difficulties, focus on breaking through key common technologies such as organic wastewater and high-salt wastewater treatment and recycling, efficient cooling, high-performance membrane materials, efficient catalysts and green agents, thermal and process system water-saving, washing water-saving, intelligent monitoring and optimization control, unconventional water utilization, etc. Do a good job in preparing industry core and basic common technology intellectual property protection and reserves, strengthen intellectual property protection and utilization. Establish national water-saving industry technology innovation strategic alliances and other platforms to promote the transformation and application of water-saving technology research and development results.

Deepening the construction of technological innovation capabilities. Give full play to the role of national-level scientific and technological innovation platforms, national major innovation bases and relevant industry research institutes, establish water-saving technology innovation centers and experimental bases. Strengthen the main position of enterprise technological innovation, encourage enterprises to take the lead in undertaking national water-saving science and technology plan projects. Strengthen the construction of related disciplines such as water-saving, unconventional water utilization, and water-saving equipment manufacturing, encourage enterprises, research institutes, and universities to establish joint training mechanisms to cultivate applied talents in water-saving disciplines.

7. Strengthening support for water-saving industries.

Strengthen financial and tax support. Using the existing special funds for central budget investment, support water pollution control, water resources conservation and other projects that meet the conditions; use central financial funds for water development to encourage the development and technological innovation of water-saving industries. Implement national existing tax preferential policies to encourage water-saving technology innovation, equipment manufacturing, and green consumption of products. The central government and local governments jointly support the upgrade of water-using consumer goods and the promotion of high-efficiency water-saving appliances. Promote "water-saving loans" financing services, explore and promote equity mortgage models such as water rights, pollutant discharge rights, etc., and increase credit support for water-saving industries. Support water-saving enterprises that meet the conditions to expand corporate financing channels through the issuance of green bonds and other methods.

Actively build exchange and cooperation platforms. Encourage regions with conditions to carry out various forms of water-saving product and equipment exhibitions, trade fairs, and technology exhibitions, promote and publicize mature and applicable water-saving technologies, build platforms for advanced water-saving technologies exchange and cooperation, deepen docking and cooperation, activate the water-saving industry's supply and demand market. Guide foreign capital and private capital to increase investment in water-saving industries. Encourage scientific research institutions and high-tech companies with conditions to participate more actively in relevant international water-related activities, carry out technical, product, and service cooperation in overseas water-conservation technology consultation, engineering construction, and operation management, and serve the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Strengthen water-saving publicity and guidance. In conjunction with World Water Day, China Water Week, National Urban Water Saving Publicity Week, and other themed publicity activities, adopt various forms to carry out extensive and in-depth publicity, strengthen water-saving popular science, do a good job in water-saving training, promote water-saving products, and typical cases of water-saving industry development. Incorporate water-saving into national quality education and primary and secondary school education activities, strengthen national and water education, nurture the awareness and culture of water-saving among the whole people. Give full play to the role of public opinion supervision and social supervision, and create a good atmosphere for the whole society to cherish, love, and save water.

National Development and Reform Commission

Ministry of Water Resources

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

June 25, 2024

This article is selected from the NDRC official website, edited by Zhixin Finance: Chen Wenfang.