According to Chen Shangqin, with the rapid development of the wastewater control industry in China, the government has boosted its policies and financial support. China's water pollution control technology has seen robust growth, and has been applied to treat various water pollution problems. For instance, such technologies as catalytic oxidation, activated sludge process and bio-contact oxidation have been widely used in industrial wastewater control. Some leading global wastewater treatment technologies, such as EST, have been developed and applied. According to Chen, demand for wastewater treatment technologies is growing as local governments put more emphasis on environment protection.

Although wastewater treatment technology in China is advanced internationally, the amount of wastewater actually treated is low. Many rivers and lakes are highly polluted. "This is because firms and local government have invested little in treating water," said Chen.

According to Chen, industrial production is the major source of pollution in China's rivers and lakes. At present, only a little more than 20 percent of industrial wastewater is treated in the country. Although Chinese environmental regulators have begun cracking down on illegal polluters in the past decade or so, the result has been unsatisfactory. Moreover, the pace of pollution cleanup lags behind the growth of industrial pollution along with China's rapid economic development.

International cooperation

On May 7, Zhou Shengxian, China's Minister of Environment Protection, met with his counterpart in Japan during a trip with President Hu Jintao. China and Japan signed the Memorandum of Understanding Between the Ministry of Environment Protection of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Environment of Japan on Joint Implementation of the Demonstration Project on Scattered Sewage Treatment Facilities in Small Cities and Towns. The document marks a big stride forward in bilateral cooperation in wastewater treatment.

China and Japan have a long history of cooperation in the field of environment protection. Cooperation and exchanges in water pollution control have been remarkably fruitful. The focus of the new agreement is on treating water pollution in small and medium-sized Chinese towns.

China's cooperation with the international community is primarily about treating wastewater in cities and in constructing infrastructure to treat industrial wastewater, according to Li Dongxu, Director of the Urban Construction Department of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

Li said that international cooperation in wastewater treatment has been increasingly robust, and China's wastewater treatment market has attracted international capital. Chinese water companies have performed well on international stock exchanges, such as the Singapore Stock Exchange. Famous financial organizations and institutions such as the International Financial Corp., Asia Development Bank and Merrill Lynch have been actively buying the shares of successful Chinese environment and resource companies.

Since 2005, some world top 500 companies, including General Electric and Siemens, have entered the Chinese market through mergers and acquisitions, while many companies are researching China's water market. Veolia Water is probably the largest and fastest-growing foreign water company in China. Since entering China in 1997, the company has launched wastewater treatment services in 14 provinces, including building and operating water treatment plants. The company currently employs more than 2,000 Chinese workers.

China has a huge wastewater treatment market, Li said. In the coming five years, 500 billion yuan ($71.43 billion) is needed to construct and renovate urban wastewater treatment systems. China welcomes foreign investment in this area. Currently, foreign ventures account for less than 10 percent of China's wastewater treatment market.

Li believes that foreign direct investment has promoted the development of environment protection in China. Foreign companies have not only provided capital, advanced technology and equipment, but also expedited structural adjustment in the industry.

History of Water Pollution Treatment in China

China's wastewater treatment started late, and has gone through three stages, as shown below. China faces more difficulties and challenges in treating wastewater than developed countries.

In 1972, the late Premier Zhou Enlai approved the establishment of Guanting Reservoir Wastewater Treatment Office, which marked the inception of water pollution treatment in China.

In 1989, the first water pollution prevention and control conference convened in Anyang City, Henan Province. A series of policies were proposed at the conference such as water management zoning, graded pollution source control, delineation of water environment function zones and the granting of pollution permits. The legal framework for environment protection has been strengthened since.

In 1995, a campaign against water pollution was launched. The campaign focused on the most polluted water bodies in China, including Huaihe, Haihe and Liaohe rivers, Taihu, Dianchi and Chaohu lakes and the Bohai Sea. Since then, China's water pollution treatment technology has experienced brisk growth. Water quality in these water bodies has improved somewhat, but there is still a long way to go.