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BEIJING, Dec. 12-- When the water started to gush north through the middle route of China's mega water diversion project in 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed it as an important strategic infrastructure to optimize water resources, boost sustainable economic and social development, and improve people's livelihoods. Five years on, the project, designed to take water from China's longest river, the Yangtze, to feed the arid north including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei Province and Henan Province, has proved to be a reliable "lifeline" for water supplies in the recipient regions. So far, the middle and eastern routes have delivered nearly 30 billion cubic meters of water to the north, benefiting over 120 million people, according to information released Thursday at a press conference of the Ministry of Water Resources. In the capital city of Beijing, more than 70 percent of its drinking water in the major urban areas came through canals and pipelines from the south, benefiting over 12 million residents, over half of the city's total population. The project, with its western route still in the pre-construction stage, has highlighted China's intensive efforts to deal with its water stress. The country has around 20 percent of the world's population, but only 6 percent of its freshwater resources. Its per capita water availability is just one-fourth of the world average. Considering China's economy is still powering ahead at a relatively fast rate, water demand is set to rise, making water scarcity a chronic issue. | 
