China to import glacier-sourced water from Kyrgyzstan to overcome water shortage crisis

Beijing/ Bishkek: In a report released last week, this concern was raised that 25 per cent of the world’s population, or two billion people, face a water scarcity crisis every year. Against the background of this report, news has come to the fore that China has started importing water directly from the neighbouring country to solve the water crisis. China has started trying to divert the glacier water of Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian country once a part of the Russian Federation.

A few days ago, the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, Akylbek Japarov, visited China. During this, he held talks with big companies producing mineral water in China. In one of these discussions, Prime Minister Japarov stated that his country has a lot of glaciers and is ready to export clean drinking water to other countries, including China. For this, he also appealed to Chinese companies to help Kyrgyzstan.

Moreover, China, which shelters about 20 per cent of the world’s population, has only 6 per cent of clean water. Due to climate change and industrial-level pollution, the water available there is decreasing. Besides, China’s water demand has increased by about 10 per cent in the last two decades. Thus, the Chinese have faced a continuous water shortage crisis for the last few years. China’s ‘bottled water’ industry has taken advantage of this, becoming the world’s leading country in this field. The sources of water used by the Chinese companies are also depleting, and against this background, preparations seem to be ongoing for importing water from Kyrgyzstan.

The number of glaciers in Kyrgyzstan is about 10 thousand, and there are more than six and a half thousand square kilometres of areas containing ice. The share of glaciers in the total area of Kyrgyzstan is more than three per cent. According to various reports on the global level, a total of 600 billion cubic meters of water is present in the country’s glaciers. However, Kyrgyzstan does not have the technology to use this water, and because of this, the water has not been used. In such a situation, China has started importing water from the glaciers of Kyrgyzstan, which is noteworthy.

Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan has been part of the Russian Federation for the past century, and Russia continues to influence the country today. However, after the change of power in this country and the failed attempt to topple the government, claims are made that China and Europe are now supporting Kyrgyzstan. It has become clear that the Communist Government of China is trying to establish its grip on neighbouring countries and small nations through investments and projects. In such a situation, the activities started by China to gain control over the glaciers of the neighbouring country Kyrgyzstan are significant.