EU-China Environmental Sustainability Programme has been a major cooperative programme on environment between China and Europe in recent years. As a project of the Programme, SUSTAIN H2O has operated for three years since its launch in September, 2013. The overall objective of SUSTAIN H2O is to develop and demonstrate management tools and practices for pollution reduction in Songhuajiang-Liaohe River Basin (SLRB), and support water quality improvement in the demonstration areas to realize the goal of water pollution control in SLRB designated in the “12th Five-Year Plan” of China. The SUSTAIN H2O project is led by Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES), with partners of Helmholtz - Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ of Germany in cooperation with the Centre for Advanced Water Research (CAWR), Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) of Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) of UK, and partners from the demonstration areas including Liaoning Academy of Environmental Sciences (LAES) of China, and Heilongjiang Provincial Research Academy of Environmental Science (HRAES) of China. CRAES has taken charge of internal and external contact and coordination of this project. EU partners have been responsible for introducing advanced technology and experience from Europe. Chinese academies at provincial level have been in charge of the application of research achievements in the demonstration areas of SLRB. SUSTAIN H2O is a positive and demonstration project for involving both Chinese central and local academies, and partners inside and outside China. Project achievements include the proposal of various technical systems, methods and guidelines, which have been further promoted even after the project’s completion, and the publication of the book Chinese Water Systems Volume 1: Liaohe and Songhuajiang River Basins by the world-famous publisher Springer.