Established with the approval of relevant Chinese governmental institutions, the GWP China Technical Advisory Committee (GWP China TAC) was founded in November 2000, with support from the Global Water Partnership Organization (GWPO) and the Ministry of Water Resources of China (MWR). GWPO recognizes GWP China as a Regional Water Partnership.
In September 2006, GWP China held its inaugural partners’ meeting in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. During this meeting, the Statutes of GWP China were adopted. Through a democratic election, the former Regional Technical Advisory Committee was transformed into a Regional Water Partnership, and the first Council of GWP China was formed. The second regional partners’ meeting took place in Changsha, Hunan Province, in May 2008, during which the second Council was elected. On March 22, 2016, at the regional partners’ meeting in Beijing, a third Council was elected, marking the formation of a new governing body.
In 2016, the Ministry of Civil Affairs officially registered GWP China as a legal entity. The occasion was congratulated by the Ministry of Water Resources, the host institute—the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR)—and its 190 regional partner members. Through this registration, GWP China aligns its statute with the vision, mission, and development strategy of the Global Water Partnership, while retaining its distinctive national and international strengths and characteristics.
中国水资源战略研究会 and GWP China operate under shared leadership. The Regional Secretariat of GWP China is hosted by the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR) in Beijing.
GWP China has established several partnerships and branch organizations, including:
- GWP China Fujian (2002)
- GWP China Hebei (2003)
- GWP China Shaanxi (2004)
- GWP China Yellow River (2005)
- GWP China Hunan (2008)
- GWP China Yangtze River (2018)
- The Belt and Road Working Committee (2023)
- The Marine Professional Committee (2023)
- The Professional Committee of Watershed Carbon Neutrality (2024)
- The Professional Committee on Water Rights and Water Markets (2025)
- The Groundwater Management Working Committee (2025)
To date, GWP China has established formal cooperative partnerships with 199 institutions and organizations, including government agencies, research institutes, civil society groups, universities, and water utilities.
With its legal and solid foundation in China, GWP China is able to organize activities flexibly and possesses greater capacity to connect national and international resources in support of both GWP’s goals and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the future.