Editor's Note: This article is the fourth installment in a RANE series on the geopolitical impacts of water stress. The first provides a broad overview of how unequal distribution of freshwater shapes geopolitical patterns. The second examines the risks of water stress destabilizing economies across the globe. The third discusses the impacts of water stress in Europe. China's strategy to address water stress offers Beijing opportunities to become a world leader in water management technologies, but it also threatens Beijing's debt mitigation efforts, relations with Southeast Asia and attempts to attract foreign investment. July and August have heralded severe floods and droughts in China for the past three years, prompting new response measures as Beijing attempts to address China's water stress issues.