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Environmental sustainability

China's Urban Agglomerations Face Water Stress Despite Domestic Trade Efforts

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

China's rapid urbanization and industrialization have led to a significant spatial mismatch between water availability and demand, making urban agglomerations particularly vulnerable to water stress. Despite efforts to alleviate regional water scarcity through domestic trade, the impact of this approach remains understudied, especially across interconnected urban agglomerations. Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have conducted a comprehensive study to assess the potential of domestic trade in redistributing water resources and improving sustainable water use in China's urban agglomerations.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study found that urban agglomerations in China collectively saw a decline in blue water footprint from 394.67 to 380.11 billion m3 during 2012-2017, corresponding to 81.40% and 79.42% of the national total, respectively.
  • Domestic trade plays a progressively important role in redistributing water resources, promoting interregional synergy, but its regulatory effect is heterogeneous, exacerbating water scarcity risks in some regions.
  • The driving forces behind water footprint changes have shifted from technological progress to a dual mechanism of structural transformation and demand-side expansion.
  • The study suggests that domestic trade can be a strategic instrument for reallocating water resources, but its impact is uneven across urban agglomerations.
  • Researchers developed a novel indicator, the virtual water trade compensation index (VWTCI), to quantify the contribution of trade to water scarcity mitigation.
  • Yupeng Fan, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was involved in the study.
  • Additional authors include Mufei Shen and Chuanglin Fang.
  • The study received financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

Statistics:

  • The blue water footprint of urban agglomerations in China decreased from 394.67 billion m3 to 380.11 billion m3 during 2012-2017.
  • Domestic trade accounted for 81.40% and 79.42% of the national total blue water footprint in 2012 and 2017, respectively.
  • The virtual water trade compensation index (VWTCI) was developed to quantify the contribution of trade to water scarcity mitigation.

Sources:

  • "Virtual Water Network Evolution and Its Uneven Effects On Water Stress Across China's Urban Agglomerations" (Journal of Cleaner Production, 2025;526)
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)
  • Journal of Cleaner Production (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Journal of Cleaner Production - www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-cleaner-production/)

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