Going forward, China will continue working with African countries and other parties to enhance international cooperation and promote the sustainable use of global water resources, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday.

Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson/MFA PRC

Mao made the remarks at a regular press conference in response to the inclusion of four Chinese irrigation projects in the 11th batch of World Heritage Irrigation Structures (WHIS 2024) unveiled days ago. The inclusion of the Karez Wells in Turpan, Xinjiang, the ancient Weirs consisting of the Huizhou Weirs in Anhui and the Wuyuan Weirs in Jiangxi (joint application), the Fengyan Terraces in Hanyin, Shaanxi, and the Jufeng Weirs in Xiushan, Chongqing, brought the total number of Chinese irrigation sites on the list to 38. China's time-honored water conservancy meets people's needs in their life and production activities, and is significant globally.

"Congratulations on the inclusion of these four projects in the World Heritage Irrigation Structures. " Mao said.

According to Mao's introduction, China has an age-old tradition of water governance and well-known water conservancy projects such as the Dujiangyan irrigation system, the Karez Wells and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Since 1949, China's water conservancy has borne fruitful results, lent stronger support to socioeconomic development and people's better life, and more importantly, provided valuable experience for the global response to water challenges.

"As you may all follow the Beijing Summit of the FOCAC closely these days, water conservancy cooperation is also part and parcel of China-Africa cooperation. As climate change worsens, Africa urgently needs to enhance its capacity-building in using, managing and governing water resources. China has deepened water conservancy cooperation with African countries and actively shared with them China's experience and practical know-how through capacity-building, joint research and project cooperation. Chinese companies have helped run a good number of signature programs and "small and beautiful" projects of water supply, flood control, irrigation and hydropower station in Africa, and offered China's solution to Africa's integrated management and sustainable use of water resources. Going forward, China will continue working with African countries and other parties to enhance international cooperation and promote the sustainable use of global water resources." Mao said. (By Ma Ziqian/China Youth Daily)

来源：中国青年报客户端