Water scarcity and water pollution are severe problems in the Northern part of China, strongly affecting socio-economic development and standards of living and environment. The Shandong province is specifically plagued by water scarcity. In the coastal catchments of the Shandong province the water scarcity is even increased due to saltwater intrusion, reducing the usability of water resources available. The pressing water problems in the costal catchments in the Shandong province and resulting socio-economic troubles forced the Chinese authorities to implement a variety of measures to relieve water scarcity and abate saltwater intrusion. But not much has been achieved so far as the measures are not coordinated in their effects and cost-benefit relations have not been considered sufficiently. Such a situation calls for good, which means integrated, sustainable water management. The assessment of this situation in the project "Flood Control and Groundwater Recharge in Coastal Catchments" financed by the German Ministry of Research and Education is presented. Further objectives and first ideas for an IWRM-concept are explained. These ideas are based on concepts developed in Germany in the context of the fulfilment of the European Water Framework Directive.