China’s seawater desalination capacity has surpassed 3 million tons per day, or 1,095 gigalitres per year – equal to the daily water use of 15 million people.
The report on national seawater utilization, released by the Ministry of Natural Resources to mark World Oceans Day, showed that by 2025 China had 167 seawater desalination projects in operation, with a combined daily capacity of 3.077 million tons, an increase of 221,000 tons compared with 2024.
The projects were distributed across 10 coastal regions, including Liaoning, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan provinces, as well as the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Tianjin municipality, the report said.
Part of that total includes capacity from a water source project in northern China’s Hebei. Now 60 percent complete, when finished, the first phase of the project will combine photovoltaic power, energy storage and desalination to produce 50,000 tons of fresh water daily.
Another seawater desalination project – this one in the Nangang Industrial Zone in Tianjin Municipality- uses domestically produced machinery to desalinate 150,000 tons of water per day.
Seawater desalination facilities are also widely used in Shandong, Zhejiang, and Hainan provinces, with more than 30 remote islands in these provinces having achieved full water supply coverage from desalination.
China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–30) calls for strengthened protection, development and utilization of marine resources and accelerated efforts to build China into a maritime power. In line with the plan, the ministry said it will continue advancing the seawater utilization industry to support both water security and strategic mineral supply chains along the coast.
Sources:
CCTV Video News, June 25, 2026. https://youtu.be/75PogchCOlk
Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area, June 9, 2026. https://invest.teda.gov.cn/contents/2810/110565.html
