Industry Special: Desalination tech helps slake nation's thirst for fresh water

China made remarkable progress in seawater desalination in recent years through the use of membrane technology, said Xu Nanping of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

The new technology stands out from traditional methods, such as extraction and evaporation due to its lower energy consumption and higher purification rate, Xu said.

"And it has become an effective way to deal with the water shortage in China," he added.