BEIJING, March 5 -- China invested a record 1.2 trillion yuan (about 168.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the construction of water conservancy facilities in 2023, an increase of 10.1 percent year on year, Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying said on Tuesday.

A total of 41,014 water conservancy projects were launched last year, which provided strong support and guarantees for national flood control, water supply, food and ecological security, Li told journalists on the sidelines of the ongoing "two sessions."

China will speed up the construction of a national water network, which is expected to be established by 2035, fostering a national water security system that meets the requirements of realizing socialist modernization, Li added.