China Expands Water Desalination and Purification Tech Exports to the Middle East

China is emerging as a primary supplier of water technology to water-stressed regions across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, industry experts report. Chinese companies are selling seawater desalination membranes, filtration machinery, and engineering services to clients in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, frequently through Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure and trade channels.

According to United Nations Comtrade data, China exported more than $2 billion worth of water filtering and purifying machinery in 2025, marking a 25 percent increase from $1.6 billion in 2020. Among active suppliers, Vontron Technology reported shipping over 30,000 seawater desalination membranes to Belt and Road countries in the past year, representing more than 300,000 tons of daily processing capacity. State engineering group PowerChina is also building utility infrastructure abroad, including a water project serving 450,000 people in Tanzania and a $4 billion plant in Basra, Iraq, with local partners.

Domestic constraints have elevated water security into a strategic priority in Beijing. Hong Kong-based think tank China Water Risk reported that China's annual water conservancy spending now exceeds 1.2 trillion yuan ($170 billion), outpacing military spending growth since 2015. Data from China's Ministry of Natural Resources showed China operated 167 seawater desalination facilities by the end of 2025, with total daily capacity reaching nearly 3.08 million tons, up 221,283 tons from 2024, at an average production cost between 4 and 8 yuan per cubic meter.

Major Gulf energy and water developers are deepening their commercial ties with Chinese equipment makers. Saleh Al Khabti, China president of Saudi developer ACWA Power, stated that the firm now buys around 70 percent of its global water equipment and over 90 percent of its renewable energy equipment from Chinese suppliers. ACWA has pledged up to $30 billion in Chinese investments by 2030, planning to spend at least $15 billion per year over the next three years on equipment across renewables, green hydrogen, and desalination from Chinese partners, including PowerChina and China Energy Engineering Corporation.