{"id":2072,"date":"2025-08-06T09:51:47","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T09:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2072"},"modified":"2025-08-06T09:51:47","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T09:51:47","slug":"beijing-floods-highlight-citys-broader-water-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2072","title":{"rendered":"Beijing Floods Highlight City&#8217;s Broader Water Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>Welcome to\u00a0<em>Foreign Policy<\/em>\u2019s China Brief.<\/p>\n<p>The highlights this week: <strong>Floods<\/strong> prompt mass evacuations in Beijing, a viral video of <strong>bullying<\/strong> sparks protests, and another <strong>trade deadline <\/strong>looms over the United States and China.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/china-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive China Brief in your inbox every Tuesday.            <\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"china_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-china_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-china_brief newsletter-shortcode-china_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-china_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive China Brief in your inbox every Tuesday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-china_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"China Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-china_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-china_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"china_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Floods Rock Beijing<\/h3>\n<p>More than 80,000 people have been evacuated from flood-prone areas in Beijing as the capital prepares for additional heavy rain after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/28\/world\/asia\/china-rain-beijing-deaths.html\">devastating rainstorms<\/a> killed at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sustainability\/climate-energy\/beijing-evacuates-residents-expands-storm-alert-deadly-floods-keep-city-edge-2025-08-04\/#:~:text=At%20least%2044%20people%20died,on%20the%20city's%20northeastern%20outskirts.\">least 44 people<\/a> late last month.<\/p>\n<p>The city appears to have dodged the latest developing storm, and today, officials <a href=\"https:\/\/www.channelnewsasia.com\/east-asia\/china-beijing-heavy-rain-more-80000-evacuated-5277201\">lifted<\/a> the severe weather alert. But the ongoing disaster highlights just how vulnerable China\u2019s capital is to weather events, especially as climate change accelerates.<\/p>\n<p>During summer storms, Beijing\u2019s streets often become rivers\u2014or more commonly, open sewers.<\/p>\n<p>This can be deadly. In a 2012 storm, at least <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sustainability\/climate-energy\/beijing-evacuates-residents-expands-storm-alert-deadly-floods-keep-city-edge-2025-08-04\/\">79 people<\/a> died in heavy rains, some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2012-07-26\/beijing-man-s-drowning-death-in-flooded-car-spurs-run-on-hammers\">drowning<\/a> in their cars trapped in underpasses, others perishing in flooded basement apartments or underground homes. That death toll is likely an undercount, as Beijing\u2019s most vulnerable residents\u2014migrant workers\u2014are also some of the least tracked.<\/p>\n<p>One of the paradoxes of Beijing is that while it has a serious problem with flooding, it simultaneously has a severe water shortage.<\/p>\n<p>Beijing has just <a href=\"https:\/\/english.www.gov.cn\/news\/topnews\/202204\/15\/content_WS6258d5cec6d02e53353295ae.html\">150 cubic meters<\/a> of fresh water per capita available annually from local sources, putting it far below 500 cubic meters per capita\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fao.org\/land-water\/water\/water-scarcity\/en\/\">the global standard<\/a> of \u201cabsolute\u201d scarcity. That\u2019s also using the official population figure of around 23 million people, which may be an underestimate, as Chinese metropolises are incentivized to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/cities\/2018\/mar\/19\/plan-big-city-disease-populations-fall-beijing-shanghai\">undercount<\/a> their citizenry.<\/p>\n<p>Because of its size and location, the choice of Beijing as China\u2019s capital doesn\u2019t make a lot of ecological sense compared to China\u2019s other historical capitals, such as Xi\u2019an or Nanjing. But Beijing was preferred by northern conquerors, most notably the Mongol Yuan empire (1271-1368), for its proximity to their homelands. After the fall of the Yuan, the Han Chinese Ming Empire eventually moved the capital back to Beijing in 1421 as an act of defiance to the nearby steppe powers.<\/p>\n<p>But historically, Beijing\u2019s population was far smaller than today, hovering at around a <a href=\"https:\/\/chinafolio.com\/provinces\/beijing\/#:~:text=Between%20the%201250%2D1900%20Beijing's,restrictions%20drove%20further%20population%20growth.\">million people<\/a> until the foundation of the People\u2019s Republic of China saw it grow to today\u2019s scale. With a fraction of today\u2019s population, there was much more water to go around.<\/p>\n<p>Nowadays, other water-scarce northern cities such as Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, regularly <a href=\"https:\/\/m.thepaper.cn\/baijiahao_30452052\">impose<\/a> water usage restrictions on citizens.<\/p>\n<p>But Beijing doesn\u2019t, chiefly because so many important and powerful people live there. Despite authorities\u2019 best efforts, <a href=\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2014\/09\/beijingers-resort-illegal-wells-clean-water\/\">illegal wells<\/a> are common, especially for use by water-intensive spas. Such <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.adb.org\/blog\/how-beijing-restoring-its-aquifer\">over-exploitation<\/a> of aquifers, legal or otherwise, has caused groundwater levels to plummet.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of restricting usage, Beijing uses its political power to extract water from elsewhere in China, most notoriously through the ongoing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2014\/dec\/12\/china-water-diversion-project-beijing-displaced-farmers\">South-North Water Transfer Project<\/a> that launched in 2003. The project has kept Beijing viable for its ever-growing population, but in turn has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chinafile.com\/multimedia\/video\/drinking-northwest-wind\">devastated<\/a> the rural communities to the south forced to give up their water.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes Beijing also has too much water. Roughly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebeijinger.com\/blog\/2021\/07\/21\/wisdom-zhihu-beijings-floods-and-how-citys-drainage-has-changed\">70 percent<\/a> of the capital\u2019s rainfall comes in the summer, especially in July. Agricultural and irrigation changes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chinanews.com\/cul\/2012\/08-01\/4074109.shtml\">over centuries<\/a> have left Beijing unusually vulnerable to summer flooding, with many lakes destroyed and new crops resulting in the removal of protective vegetation.<\/p>\n<p>Although Beijing has <a href=\"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/2022\/07\/19\/greener-than-expected-noticing-the-overlooked-color-of-beijing-in-summer\/\">expanded<\/a> its green space in recent years, its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/figure\/Directional-and-concentric-map-of-Beijing_fig1_328590953\">massive urban sprawl<\/a> over the last four decades has eaten up rural areas, paving over fields that once absorbed water.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s compounded by Beijing\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/759177\/major-chinese-cities-cant-seem-to-figure-out-basic-drainage-and-flood-prevention\">outdated drainage system<\/a>, much of which was built to poor-quality Soviet standards and hasn\u2019t been replaced since the 1980s, despite top-down initiatives to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/china\/economy\/article\/1846225\/chinese-premier-li-keqiang-says-urban-pipeline-upgrade-will-boost\">modernize infrastructure<\/a>. Officials tend to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/business\/la-xpm-2012-aug-02-la-fi-mo-china-construction-20120802-story.html\">prefer<\/a> glitzy, high-tech conference centers, high-speed rail, and skyscrapers to the unglamorous and invisible work of fixing sewers.<\/p>\n<p>Climate change, meanwhile, has changed storms of last month\u2019s scale from once-in-a-lifetime events to regular disasters.<\/p>\n<p>Beijing is far from the only area in China to have serious water problems. Flooding has become a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/10\/world\/asia\/typhoon-danas-rain-flooding-china-hong-kong.html\">regular peril<\/a> in the south, while urbanization and loss of groundwater are causing many cities to <a href=\"https:\/\/earth.org\/why-are-chinese-cities-sinking-a-comprehensive-analysis-of-causes-effects-and-solutions\/\">slowly subside<\/a> into the ground.<\/p>\n<p>Chinese President Xi Jinping has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/10\/03\/1202252103\/china-floods-sponge-cities-climate-change\">promoted<\/a> the development of \u201csponge cities,\u201d adopting practices that better allow landscapes to absorb, store, and release rainwater. But despite winning plaudits from Western environmentalists and urban planners, making cities \u201cspongy\u201d has <a href=\"https:\/\/iwaponline.com\/wst\/article\/88\/10\/2499\/98252\/Review-of-Sponge-City-implementation-in-China\">largely failed<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/what-are-chinas-sponge-cities-why-arent-they-stopping-floods-2023-08-10\/\">prevent flooding<\/a> in China.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>What We\u2019re Following<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Bullying protests.<\/strong> A video of a 14-year-old female student being sadistically bullied by her classmates has gone viral in China, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/aug\/05\/video-shows-rare-protests-in-china-over-beating-of-schoolgirl-by-three-teenagers-jiangyou\">prompting protests<\/a> in the city of Jiangyou, where the event occurred, and arrests of protesters. Police also claim to have apprehended the bullies.<\/p>\n<p>Bullying is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/books\/abs\/school-bullying-in-different-cultures\/research-on-school-bullying-in-mainland-china\/3BB1534B6C9A9CFEC33139235A31A459\">common<\/a> in Chinese schools, especially of poorer or lower-class students. (That played a role in the anger here, due to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c5yeg864g54o\">rumors<\/a>\u2014which police claim are false\u2014that the bullies in the video are daughters of a police officer and a lawyer.) This bullying incident has further fueled <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC9379115\/\">anxieties around schooling<\/a> among parents\u2014already intense given the <a href=\"https:\/\/voxchina.org\/show-3-346.html\">cost burden<\/a> of raising children and the huge wealth disparities within China\u2019s education system.<\/p>\n<p>These factors, among others, are causing authorities to increasingly worry about the <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2025\/08\/04\/china-america-borthrate-ageing-population-output-growth-economy\/\">collapsing birth rate<\/a>. A new government policy offers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c776xgex02jo\">modest child care subsidies<\/a> to parents to help offset costs, but that\u2019s unlikely to move the needle, given that China remains both a middle-income country and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2024\/feb\/21\/cost-of-raising-children-in-china-is-second-highest-in-the-world-think-tank-reveals\">second-most expensive<\/a> place in the world to raise kids.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Diaspora snitches.<\/strong> Chinese students in the United Kingdom are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cyvn308789go\">facing increasing pressure<\/a> to inform on their classmates for perceived party disloyalty and to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/education\/2025\/aug\/04\/uk-academics-studying-topics-sensitive-to-china-face-harassment-survey-finds\">harass academics<\/a> who take a stand on human rights issues, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/ukctransparency.org\/new-ukct-report-on-china-studies\/\">new report<\/a> from U.K.-China Transparency, a think tank that focuses on Beijing\u2019s influence in Britain.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve heard similar stories from both mainland students and academics in the United States, where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2019\/08\/21\/why-so-many-chinese-students-cant-understand-hong-kong-protests\">clashes<\/a> among students over Taiwan and Hong Kong have sometimes played out violently. But China has more cards to play in the United Kingdom, where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/britain\/2025\/07\/17\/britains-bankrupt-universities-are-hunting-for-cheaper-models\">financially strained<\/a> universities remain dependent on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/education\/2024\/dec\/12\/uk-universities-urged-to-provide-better-support-for-students-from-china\">Chinese students<\/a> who pay full price for their degrees.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>FP\u2019s Most Read This Week<\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Tech and Business<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Trade deadline.<\/strong> The 90-day reciprocal tariff pause between the United States and China is due to expire on Aug. 12. But it seems highly unlikely that U.S. President Donald Trump has the appetite to go head-to-head against China again, with administration officials already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/china\/diplomacy\/article\/3320617\/august-12-deadline-china-tariffs-not-set-stone-says-us-trade-negotiator\">signaling<\/a> another extension and Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/07\/29\/trump-taiwan-president-china-transit-diplomacy-trade\/\">snubbing<\/a> the Taiwanese president last week in pursuit of a summit with Xi.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the increasingly erratic president may shift gears at any moment, but Beijing has also been reminding Washington of its grip on critical minerals, continuing to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/asia\/china-western-defense-industry-critical-minerals-3971ec51?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=ASWzDAjwuA9b4JGCfA3Vuh-yfOTdjBblVEmfuPnN5W4ejCKncmbb_G32GTx1Y2CvvBo%3D&amp;gaa_ts=689224ff&amp;gaa_sig=UA8On_CaLdBuXvNpH4OyJJUFQagAxcByuRATZeJBQuRq2B9ctE76xFlzGr-VUf_kAmMScZKhpda49e55A5p9Cg%3D%3D\">limit<\/a> their flow to U.S. defense and security manufacturers.<\/p>\n<p>If another diplomatic clash between the United States and China does come, it may stem from China\u2019s closeness to Russia, with <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/china-russia-iran-oil-trump-trade-tariffs-a21b0d791007fe0984b38ae3c9087f26\">Beijing defiant<\/a> over recent U.S. demands that China cease purchasing Russian oil.<\/p>\n<p><strong>EV price wars.<\/strong> Beijing is attempting to halt the electric vehicle (EV) price war that has driven prices to record lows and endangered the future of manufacturers, who are producing at a loss, and suppliers, who are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/business\/autos\/how-chinas-byd-is-squeezing-suppliers-in-the-ev-price-war-2c70ee82?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=ASWzDAj31MhB5j-CvmbYN3G1pDBjpX4FvmgLQB9_-eJphF5OPAFnMxe6CqXIzwlxJFQ%3D&amp;gaa_ts=68922a8b&amp;gaa_sig=9ZxxKJPtBsbQT3AYxL1fTIIT3fapRDCwx-0C-N4lni_FA9wYBJ1pDjjXDIthXxdfmfGj6bYL_KERGUSh6ORrRg%3D%3D\">being stiffed<\/a> by even the largest firms.<\/p>\n<p>Regulators have said they will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-08-01\/china-to-name-and-shame-firms-blamed-for-destructive-price-wars?embedded-checkout=true\">name and shame<\/a> firms engaging in price wars. Xi has warned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/china-eonomy-xi-jinping-industry-involution-competition-ev-ai-deflation-2025-7\">several times<\/a> in recent weeks against \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baidu.com\/link?url=1clsMFb7E5FMYpmQ8zTvDWjTcndjsm9OgouCt5W63nLitsoPyyTec9LODbh3BfR3nq8v3zenJgYH3HVEQNT4CLJig4YHIr1oiNLik2dlX-G&amp;wd=&amp;eqid=a120a1af002ea2b30000000668922618\">involution<\/a>\u201d (<em>neijuan<\/em>), a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2024\/dec\/24\/what-is-neijuan-china-viral-buzzword-laptop-bicycle\">popular buzzword<\/a> adopted by the party in the last year that refers to self-defeating competition and shrinking inward.<\/p>\n<p>Neijuan is part of the increasingly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/china-eonomy-xi-jinping-industry-involution-competition-ev-ai-deflation-2025-7\">common argument<\/a> from Xi and others that investment is becoming too limited, focused primarily on EVs and artificial intelligence. Chinese investors are even more prone to herding than their American counterparts, flocking to sectors seen as having the party\u2019s blessing.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/08\/05\/beijing-floods-china-water-infrastructure-climate-weather-environment\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to\u00a0Foreign Policy\u2019s China Brief. The highlights this week: Floods prompt mass evacuations in Beijing, a viral video of bullying sparks protests, and another trade deadline looms over the United States and China. Sign up to receive China Brief in your inbox every Tuesday. Sign up to receive China Brief in your inbox every Tuesday. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2072","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}