France–China cooperation on water management: towards a stronger partnership for water and ecological security

Published on 08/13/25

Sustainable water management has become a strategic issue for China, which has only 7% of the world's water resources for nearly a fifth of the world's population.

In this context, bilateral cooperation between France and China, initiated in 2009, is based on the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) to address challenges related to water scarcity, quality and governance.

Experts from OiEau have just participated in a mission to China to relaunch this partnership.

Pilot projects at the watershed level

From its earliest years, the International Office for Water (OiEau) coordinated a pilot project in the Hai River basin, aimed at applying mechanisms inspired by the 1964 French Water Law in China:

integrated basin-wide management,
pollution control,
ecosystem protection.

These experiments paved the way for sustainable technical and institutional exchanges between French and Chinese water stakeholders.

The China Europe Water Platform (CEWP): a strategic framework since 2012

Created with the support of the European Union, the China Europe Water Platform (CEWP) aims to:

test the application of the principles of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) in pilot areas in China,
formulate policy recommendations based on feedback,
disseminate the results to Chinese institutions,
develop partnerships between water management organisations, research centres and innovative companies.

From 2018 to 2022, OiEau led a consortium with Finland and Portugal to strengthen knowledge and capacities on water management and ecological security.

ECCoW: relaunching and structuring Sino-European cooperation

In 2024, the launch of the three-year ECCoW (Europe China Cooperation on Water) project marked a new stage by promoting the establishment of an operational network focused on the implementation of concrete projects.

From 30 June to 10 July, a mission of French experts from OiEau and Seine Grands Lacs (SGL) visited China. This trip made it possible to:

At the institutional level:

lay the foundations for a structured relaunch of bilateral cooperation,
prepare a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a twinning arrangement between the Seine and Yongding river basins, involving OiEau, SGL, the Yongding River Investment Company Ltd. (YRICL) and the Haihe River Water Conservancy Commission (HWCC),
define the priorities for 2025–2026: basin management, interprovincial governance, nature-based solutions (NBS) and digital twins.

At the technical level:

the development of natural solutions for flood and drought management,
the deployment of innovative digital technologies,
and the strengthening of local and institutional capacities.

Outlook: towards a high-level dialogue in 2025

These advances pave the way for the next stages of cooperation, notably the CEWP High-Level Dialogue scheduled to take place in France in autumn 2025, during which the memorandum of understanding is expected to be signed.

Through this enhanced cooperation, France and China aim to secure access to water, improve climate resilience, protect ecosystems and promote technological innovation for sustainable water resource management.

It is important to renew water management approaches at the basin level, incorporating the latest knowledge on the hydrological cycle, nature-based solutions and the links between science and public policy. The achievements of bilateral cooperation between France and China on water management since 2009 are now feeding into the European dynamics of the CEWP and the ECCoW programme.