China's Shared Water Resources: Geopolitics, Domestic Institutions and Global Governance

Abstract

Contention over transboundary water resources has emerged as a main area of non-traditional security concern for both China and its neighbouring countries. The increasing nexus among water, food and energy demands in China further complicates the transnational policy making process to secure an ecologically sustainable future. In this chapter, the authors examine different kinds of challenges arising in transboundary watercourses faced by China, and argue that, besides geopolitical factors, inadequate domestic water regulation and low participation in global water governance also account for the lack of a major breakthrough in China’s management of transboundary water resources.

Keywords: transboundary water management, China, geopolitics