Chinas International Transboundary Rivers
China has 40 major transboundary watercourses with neighbouring countries, and has frequently been accused of harming its downstream neighbours through its domestic water management policies, such as the construction of dams for hydropower. This book provides an understanding of water security in Asia by investigating how shared water resources affect Chinas relationships with neighbouring countries in South-East, South, Central and North-East Asia.
Since China is an upstream state on most of its shared transboundary rivers, the countrys international water policy is at the core of Asias water security. These water disputes have had strong implications for Chinas interstate relations, and also influenced its international water policy alongside domestic concerns over water resource management.
This book investigates Chinas policy responses to domestic water crises and examines Chinas international water policy as well as its strategy in dealing with international cooperation. The authors describe the key elements of water diplomacy in Asia which demonstrate varying degrees of effectiveness of environmental agreements. It shows how China has established various institutional arrangements with neighbouring countries, primarily in the form of bilateral agreements over hydrological data exchange. Detailed case studies are included of the Mekong, Brahmaputra, Ili and Amur rivers.
Lei Xie is a Visiting Research Scholar, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. She receievd her PhD from Wageningen University, the Netherlands, after gaining her BA from School of Government, Peking University, China and MPhil from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Shaofeng Jia is Professor and Chair of the Department of Water Resources Research, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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Chinas International Transboundary Rivers
Politics, Security and Diplomacy of Shared Water Resources
Lei Xie and Shaofeng Jia
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First published 2018
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2018 Lei Xie and Shaofeng Jia
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Xie, Lei, author. | Jia, Shaofeng, 1964 author.
Title: Chinas international transboundary rivers : politics, security and diplomacy of shared water resources / Lei Xie and Jai Shaofeng. Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2018. | Series: Earthscan studies in water resource management | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017030170| ISBN 9781138689060 (hardback) | ISBN 9781315537900 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Water useGovernment policyChina. | Water-supply Co-managementChina. | Water-supplyChinaInternational cooperation. | Water resources developmentPolitical aspectsChina. | Water rightsChina. | Water securityChina. | ChinaForeign relationsAsia.
Classification: LCC HD1698.C5 X526 2018 | DDC 333.91/620951dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017030170
ISBN: 978-1-138-68906-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-53790-0 (ebk)
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Preface
Water is a powerful element on the planet. It nourishes all life and shapes civilizations. Water features prominently in Chinese culture. Laozi, an ancient philosopher states in the Book of Tao and Theh, The top virtue is like water, benefiting all, contending with none, and is content with what all others disdain. Therefore it is close to the Word.
China is one of the most water-rich countries in the world and benefits from 4,000 years experience in the governance of water, with constant evolution in its approaches and philosophy. For a long time, management and control were a strong focus of Chinas approach to the use of water. This is also referred to as Shuili, which means drawing the benefits from water resources as well as avoiding the difficulties that water disasters could bring. Today, natural scientists and engineers play a significant role in water governance. Emphasis is placed on technical issues in water resource management and in the sharing of water resources across borders. However, as the contribution of social scientists remains doubted to this day, the central government has not yet established effective multilevel water governance that incorporates various actors.
This book is a cross-disciplinary study that has adopted subjects of politics, water resource management, international relations and area studies of China and Asia. By doing so, it aims to broaden our understanding of the effectiveness of collaborative mechanisms that are reached among riparian countries; it also provides insights on Asias regional security, which is potentially threatened by ongoing water disputes between China and neighbouring states.
