ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on China's role in global water governance through an analysis of the potential implications of three new developments: South China Sea Arbitration in 2016, China's BRI, and the growing US interest in global water leadership. In 2016, the biggest diplomatic challenge faced by China was, arguably, the South China Sea Arbitration case brought against the country by the Philippines in 2013. The growing US interest in the global water leadership could further motivate China to pay more attention to water problems, particularly the ongoing transboundary water disputes with neighbours. The South China Sea Arbitration will resound well beyond the South China Sea and even the maritime domain; one of the potential impacts of the arbitration is on China's stance towards the 1997 UNWC. In February 2017, the Belt and Road Developing Countries' Water Security Research Consultation project was established in Beijing.
