RECIEL. 2020;00:1–11. | 1 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/reel © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC 1 | INTRODUCTION The law of international watercourses has been codified and progres- sively developed primarily through the drafting, adoption and entry into force of two international legal instruments: The 1997 United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses (Watercourses Convention), 1 and the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Rivers and International Lakes (Water Convention). 2 Collectively referred to here as the global water conventions, they offer complementary, yet distinct frameworks for the joint management of transboundary freshwater resources. Both conventions are based on the foundational norms of equitable and reasonable utilization and the due diligence obligation not to cause significant harm, 3 supported by a general duty to cooperate and a series of procedural rules including information sharing and consultation. 4 In spite of their similarities, they also have their differences. Whereas the Water Convention places more emphasis on preventing transboundary harm and pro- tecting water quality, the Watercourses Convention places more em- phasis on the equitable and reasonable allocation of water resources. 5 In spite of this, these conventions are recognized as complementary frameworks, both of which are now in force and open globally for 1 Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses (adopted 21 May 1997, entered into force 17 August 2014) 36 ILM 700 (Watercourses Convention). 2 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Rivers and Lakes (adopted 17 March 1992; entered into force 6 October 1996) 1936 UNTS 269 (Water Convention). 3 Watercourses Convention (n 1) arts 5, 6 and 7; Water Convention (n 2) arts 2(2c) and 2(1). 4 Watercourses Convention (n 1) arts 8, 9 and 17; Water Convention (n 2) art 2(6), 6, 9(2) and 10. Prior notification is also an important procedural norm of the law of international watercourses found in the Watercourses Convention (art 12), but it is not explicitly found in the Water Convention. 5 A Tanzi, ‘UN Economic Commission for Europe Water Convention’ in F Rocha Loures and A Rieu-Clarke (eds), The UN Watercourses Convention in Force: Strengthening International Law for Transboundary Water Management (Routledge 2013) 231. Received: 19 February 2020 | Accepted: 6 August 2020 DOI: 10.1111/reel.12363 SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE China and the global water conventions in light of recent developments: Time to take a second look? David J. Devlaeminck | Xisheng Huang Correspondence Email: huangxisheng@cqu.edu.cn Funding Information Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities: Project No. 2019 CDJSK 08 XK 07; National Social Science Fund of China, Key Projects: Project No. 14ZDC029 Abstract China is an important yet often misunderstood upstream neighbour on many transbound- ary watercourses. In 1997, after participating in the drafting process of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses, China, along with Burundi and Turkey, voted against the Convention. Since that time, how- ever, both China’s practice and the law of international watercourses have evolved. In ex- planation of its vote, China provided four reasons including a lack of general agreement, that the Convention did not recognize sovereignty, that select provisions were imbalanced and disagreement regarding mandatory dispute settlement mechanisms. This article aims to revisit these reasons in light of recent developments and our current understanding of Chinese practice and international water law, asking the question: is it time for China to take a second look? Although China’s vote concerned the Watercourses Convention, given their complementarity, this article will discuss these reasons in relation to both global water conventions, the 1997 Watercourses Convention and the 1992 Water Convention. KEYWORDS accession, China, transboundary water, Watercourses Convention, Water Convention