China is ready to increase cooperation with the World Water Council (WWC) to jointly cope with water-resource challenges, said Vice Premier Hui Liangyu in Beijing on Wednesday.

"We appreciate such cooperation with the WWC," Hui told visiting WWC President Loic Fauchon.

Applauding the WWC's contribution to establishing the World Water Forum and solving world water issues, Hui hoped the cooperation between China and the WWC would be more comprehensive.

Hui said the Chinese government attached great importance to the scientific management and sustainable application of water resources, and had taken measures to deal with such problems as water pollution and flood and drought disasters.

Echoing Hui, Fauchon spoke highly of China's work in water resources, saying that China's management experience was valuable for all countries in the world.

Fauchon was here on a visit at the invitation of the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources. He is scheduled to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the cooperation between the two organs.

WWC, created by a number of key water institutions in 1996, is an international multi-stakeholder platform "to promote awareness, build political commitment and trigger action on critical water issues at all levels", according to its Web site.

The Council's World Water Forum, organized every three years since 1997, is the largest international event in the field of water.

(Xinhua News Agency July 23, 2009)