The essence and implementation pathways of water conservancy modernization in the context of Chinese modernization

Water conservancy modernization is an important component of Chinese modernization, and the two show inherent consistency in strategic goals, value orientations, and practical logic. A deep understanding and systematic advancement of water conservancy modernization in the new era are of great theoretical and practical significance for consolidating the foundation of national water security and supporting high-quality economic and social development. From the holistic perspective of Chinese modernization, this paper systematically elucidates the core essence of water conservancy modernization in the new era and its alignment with Chinese modernization, including multi-objective synergy, people-oriented approach, systematic governance, and technological integration. It dialectically analyzes four major relationships that need to be coordinated in advancing water conservancy modernization, including the relationship between high-quality development and high-level security, between high-quality development and high-level protection, between traditional water conservancy functions and modern governance capabilities, and between near-term tasks and mid-to-long term planning. Taking Shaoxing City as a case study, this paper analyzes the implementation pathways for advancing water conservancy modernization based on its “Four Lets” water governance philosophy, “Four Types of Rivers and Lakes” construction direction, “Three Major Supports” development strategies, and “Five-Systems” implementation framework. The results show that the essence of water conservancy modernization in the new era is highly consistent with the five characteristics of Chinese modernization, and the four major relationships to be coordinated in the process of promoting water conservancy modernization are not isolated from each other but form an interdependent and dynamically balanced organic whole. The practice of Shaoxing’s “14435” strategic framework validates the promotion logic of “concept guidance-direction orientation-system guarantee”, offering a referential municipal model for exploring water conservancy modernization at the regional level.