MARSEILLE, France - China is actively participating in international cooperation and exchanges to explore solutions to water challenges, Chinese Minister of Water Resources said Wednesday.

"Water issues bear on the survival and development of human beings and the well-being of people of all countries," Chen Lei said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on the third day of the Sixth World Water Forum in Marseille, southern France.

The forum, organized by the World Water Council (WWC) in close collaboration with the authorities of the hosting country, has been held every three years since 1997 to raise the importance of water on the political agenda and promote the solution of international water issues.

China joined the WWC in 2009 and this year's forum is the first global platform on water issues that China is participating as a full member.

It has become a consensus of the international community to attach great importance to great water challenges and promote sustainable use of water resources, said the minister, who is heading the Chinese delegation to the six-day forum.

Global climate change has made extreme weather events more frequent and water-related problems such as droughts and floods more severe, which poses a daunting challenge for the world, Chen said.

To address the problem, enhanced cooperation and concerted efforts are needed in the international community, he said.

On Wednesday, the Chinese minister signed on the Joint Statement upon Establishment of China-Europe Water Platform (CEWP), which marks the establishment of the long-term cooperation platform between China and Europe.

China inked the Memorandum of Cooperation on the Mechanism of Ministerial Meeting with its two neighbors Japan and South Korea on Tuesday and introduced a cooperation project with French governments in the field of integrated water resource management on Monday.

Chen said China would make more efforts to enhance its involvements in global water movements.

The country will actively participate in international activities on water, including important international conferences, the minister said.

He also stressed multi-level dialogues and the sharing of experience, technologies and information on water issues.

China would encourage research institutions to work jointly on water-related projects, and actively respond to the Ministerial Statement of the Forum as well, Chen said.

"(China) is willing and ready, with countries and regions, to work out sound solutions for water, promote in-depth exchange and cooperation, share successful experience, work out sound solutions, address challenges hand in hand, and to support sustainable development of economy and society with sustainable utilization of water resources," he said.

As the world's largest meeting around water, the triennial water forum was launched under the theme of "Time for Solutions" on Monday to address the planet's deepening crisis of fresh water.