... the year 2030.
China's ambitions are high. By 2020, it aims to double its 2010 GDP and per capita income both of urban and rural residents.
The nation's economic track record has been impressive. It now has a middle class population of more than 300 million and has experienced the fastest ever economic growth over the past 30 years.
But it may not be able to maintain this momentum unless it overcomes one of its core policy challenges: water, both in terms of quantity and quality.
China's economy runs on water. Water is needed at one stage or another to generate energy. China's industry is the second largest water consumer - it consumes 139 billion cubic meters of water a year - with only the agriculture sector consuming more. And by 2030, Chinese industry's water consumption is projected to increase to 265 million cubic meters.
China is running out of water, which could soon curb its growth unless immediate countermeasures are taken.
The vast nation does not have much water to begin with. It is home to almost 20 percent of the world's population but has only 7 percent of its freshwater reserves. Water is one of its scarcest resources. And it is extremely inefficient in the use of water and a world leader in water pollution.
What exacerbates this shortage is the vicious circle of energy and water - if power-generating plants need water then water treatment and supply facilities need energy.
The Third World Centre for Water Management estimates that the water sector consumes as much as 25 percent of the electricity generated globally.
Though China's water sector is not yet among the country's most energy-intensive industries, it will gradually become so with new hubs of growth emerging in the water-scare western region and the increasing demand for wastewater treatment.
Already, about 52 percent of China's economic output comes from water-scarce regions.
Read the complete unabridged ChinaDaily article.