In July 2017, the Xinhua news agency reported that the 131 seawater desalination projects in China together produced over 1.18 million tonnes of water per day at the end of 2016. The figures came from a report of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA). The largest plant could deliver 200,000 tonnes daily, and a tonne cost between five and eight yuan. About 66.6 percent went to industry, the rest to households. The SOA announced plans to speed up legislation on seawater use.
The report showed that desalination in China mainly served industry at the time, while the authorities treated public acceptance of desalinated drinking water as an open task.
Source: Xinhua