China's disaster management for flood prevention and drought relief made comprehensive progress in the past decade, according to an official from the country's Ministry of Water Resources.

"The average annual loss from flood disasters in China has dropped from 0.57 percent in the previous decade to 0.31 percent," said Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying at a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday. 

"This year, in the face of the worst drought in the Yangtze River Basin since 1961, the country has implemented precise prevention measures to ensure drinking water safety for 13.85 million people and the supplied irrigation water for 28.56 million mu (1.9 million hectares) of autumn grains," Li said.

China has the most complex water conditions in the world and therefore encounters great difficulty in river and water management, according to Li. It is also short on water resources. However, the natural precipitation, evaporation, runoff and other elements for water balance are extremely uneven distributed.

China has always adopted the "people-first" approach to disaster management. In the past 10 years, the country has been sharpening its flood control engineering system along the river basin, strengthening the forecast and early warning action plans. By implementing a series of scientific hydraulic engineering projects, the nation has successfully overcome severe flooding along the Yellow River, Yangtze River and many other major rivers and lakes.

Some 280 million rural people now drink safe water, with tap water penetration covering 84 percent of village areas. The country has also increased the construction of farmland irrigation projects, with 7,330 large and medium-sized irrigation areas commissioned. 

China has also taken a water conservation approach toward maintaining a stable total annual water consumption over the past 10 years. With only 6 percent of the world's freshwater resources, the country feeds nearly 20 percent of the world's population and generates more than 18 percent of the world's total economic output.

China optimizes its water resource through major water diversion projects, such as the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The first phase of the project – the East Middle Route – has diverted 56.5 billion cubic meters of water, benefiting more than 150 million people along the route. 

China has also restored its groundwater flow lines, treating a soil erosion area of 580,000 square kilometers.

The country has also implemented laws, such as the Yangtze River Protection Law, to strengthen its water management capabilities.