Water is the source of life. What would happen if the water affairs market was controlled by foreign capital? This is not an exaggeration. It has actually happened in our country. Foreign capital once controlled 60% of our water affairs market. The whole process was shocking and terrifying. How did they manage to do this? Is the tap water we drink now still safe? Today, let's talk about the past battle for water rights and how China made the American plans fail!

One day, humans will wage war for the competition of water resources. This is not my words, but the words of the American presidential candidate Harris. The original words were, humans once competed for oil resources, and in the future, it will become water sources. Americans do this and say this.

The famous North American river, the Colorado River, is not only the lifeline of the southwestern United States but also flows through the "life-saving water" of northern Mexico. But who would have thought that for the competition of water resources on this road, the United States actually had a fierce conflict with Mexico. In the end, the arm couldn't twist the thigh, and the United States made Mexico sign the "Colorado River Agreement" and the "Mexican Water Agreement" two major agreements, firmly controlling the water resource allocation rights of this river.

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If you go to Mexico, they are really pitiful. Drinking water is a local luxury. In the dry season, the water used by residents depends on the government's quota allocation. Families in good condition can spend hundreds of dollars to buy water from other places, and ordinary families can only endure the consequences of water shortage.

In sharp contrast, although water is scarce, the streets of Mexico are full of American Coca-Cola. On the one hand, the United States controls Mexico's water resources, and on the other hand, it creates the sweet trap of cola. This is not an isolated case. Twenty years ago, China almost became today's Mexico.

You may not believe it, but once, 60% of China's tap water market was controlled by foreign capital. These overseas capitals gradually penetrated into the tap water field through joint ventures, acquisitions, and other methods, with a speed that was astonishing. All this has to start with China's accession to the World Trade Organization.

In 2001, China joined the World Trade Organization. This is a big event that the whole country is excited about. In order to become a member of the WTO, we had a long-term negotiation with the United States. One of the key points of the negotiation was whether to open the water affairs field to foreign capital.

The United States' request was to allow foreign capital to enter the water affairs field, on the grounds that overseas enterprises have better technology and management experience, strong financial strength, and can help China solve the problems of tap water facility transformation and water affairs development fund shortage. The United States seems to be very considerate for us, wanting to achieve a win-win situation through cooperation. At that time, we believed it, and we didn't see the deeper malice behind the problem at all. The second year after we joined the World Trade Organization, we introduced relevant policies to open the water affairs market to foreign capital.

Subsequently, foreign capital began to quickly penetrate into the water affairs field, and well-known foreign enterprises such as Vivendi and Suez all rushed to the Chinese market.From 2002 to 2008, foreign-funded enterprises, armed with capital and teams, rapidly seized shares of China's water market through acquisitions, joint ventures, and other means. In some major cities, the penetration of foreign capital was even more evident. Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, these three first-tier cities, had their water supply entirely controlled by Veolia. Chongqing and Qingdao's tap water were dominated by Suez's subsidiary, Sino-French Water. Whenever there was an opportunity, foreign capital would rush in, demonstrating considerable financial strength and audacity.

Take the 2007 case of the transfer of shares in Yangzhou's water supply company as an example. Yangzhou Water Supply was to transfer 49% of the company's shares, with the market valuation of the transaction being only 182 million yuan. However, it was ultimately acquired by Sino-French Water for 895 million yuan, more than four times the assessed value. It was incredible. On the surface, it seemed that foreigners were naive and wealthy, but in reality, they had their own calculations.

How much money a water company can make is closely linked to the net asset level, with the annual profit margin controlled between 6% and 12% of the net assets. If it's a private or foreign enterprise, through market-oriented means, the profit margin can be maximized to 12% of the net asset level. Foreign capital seemingly acquired the shares of water companies at high prices, but in fact, they wanted to keep the profits within the company, expanding the scale of the company's net assets, and thus increasing the profit scale, right?

As a result, an unexpected outcome occurred. Before the water supply equipment was upgraded, the water prices rose first. Taking Kunming in Yunnan as an example, after the water supply was jointly invested in by Veolia, the water prices increased three times within four years. The last price increase raised the unit price from 2.65 yuan per cubic meter to 3.45 yuan. The same price increase phenomenon occurred in major cities. Water usage, like electricity, has a public welfare nature, and the pricing and timing of price increases should have strict standards. However, foreign-funded enterprises do not think so. For them, it is a business, and what business is not aimed at maximizing profits?

Foreign capital is proactive in price increases, but turns a blind eye to water quality maintenance. In 2007, Lanzhou wanted to introduce foreign water management technology and signed a share transfer agreement with the French Veolia Group. However, Veolia quickly revealed the true face of capitalists. Not only did they not transform the water supply system and water treatment equipment as promised, but they also cut corners in some details, ultimately causing local water pollution and benzene exceedance incidents.

What is even more infuriating is that after Veolia learned about the pollution, they did not inform the public in the first place but instead added activated carbon to the tap water to cover up the problem. It was not until everyone noticed the strange smell of the tap water that Veolia admitted it, but by then, 18 hours had already passed.

More and more such incidents have occurred. Water prices have risen, but water quality has not improved. Foreign-funded enterprises only care about making money and do not care at all whether there will be problems with drinking such water. Fortunately, at that time, the country also realized the problem. Water resources must be controlled by the Chinese to be safe, otherwise, it would be "others as the butcher, and I as the fish." Since then, the country has used various administrative and market means, through more than a decade of efforts, to slowly regain the Chinese water market. So far, the control of overseas capital over the water market has been reduced to about 10%.

Water resources are just a mirror that reflects the true nature of things. In the future, as Earth's resources are depleted, the competition among countries for energy and resources will become more and more intense. Ambitious and deceptive tactics will continue to come, and we must always be vigilant.