Growing cities, overuse of fertilizers and factory wastewater have degraded China's water supplies to the extent that half the nation's rivers and lakes are severely polluted. China aims to spend $850 billion to improve filthy water supplies over the next decade, but even such huge outlays may do little to reverse damage caused by decades of pollution and overuse in Beijing's push for rapid economic growth. Photo: Fishermen row a boat in the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Hefei, Anhui province, June 19, 2009. (Photo by Jianan Yu/Reuters)

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a worker drinks at the construction site of the T3B terminal project of Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport in southwest China's Chongqing, July 11, 2022. Flooding and extreme high temperatures have caused multiple deaths in eastern China as summer heat descends earlier than usual. (Photo by Huang Wei/Xinhua via AP Photo)

A dog wearing a hat, a pair of sunglass and a lei standing in a fountain of water on August 5, 2022 in Hong Kong, China. The Hong Kong SongKran Festival will be held in a shopping centre from August 5 to 9. (Photo by Vernon Yuen/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A robot named Nia from Beijing Qingfei Technologies Co. Ltd greets visitors to the Zhongguancun Forum at the Zhongguancun International Innovation Center in Beijing, China, Friday, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Chinese honor guards march after the arrival ceremony attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev at The Great Hall of The People in Beijing, China, 23 April 2025. (Photo by Iori Sagisawa/EPA/EFE)

Passengers with their pet dogs take a pet-friendly train on the Jinyidong Line of the Jinhua Rail Transit on June 22, 2025 in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province of China. (Photo by Shi Bufa/VCG via Getty Images)

Aerial view of workers repairing fishing nets in preparation for a new round of fishing season on July 27, 2025 in Wenling, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province of China. (Photo by Zhu Haiwei/Zhejiang Daily Press Group/VCG via Getty Images)

Chinese female troops march during a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025. (Photo by Pedro Pardo/AFP Photo)