China will speed up efforts to promote the development of water resources science and technology to boost water safety in both urban and rural areas, senior officials said on Tuesday.

Yu Qiyang, secretary general of Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society, said that China's per capita availability of water is very low compared with the world's average, while the average per capita water consumption in China has increased rapidly in recent years.

"Water safety has become a problem in China, so we will further promote the access to an improved water source and improved sanitation," he said.

Yu was speaking ahead of a three-day event, Water Expo China 2015, held on November 18 to 20 in Beijing and co-organized by the association and the German exhibition company Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH.

Analysts forecast that the market for water treatment products in China is expected to grow 10.3 percent annually to 46.6 billion yuan in 2015, providing huge business opportunities for foreign water treatment companies such as Suez Environment S.A. a French-based utility company.