It also apparently provides a way to make reactors that don’t depend as much on water so they don’t all have to be near the coast.

This would allow Western China to also develop reactors to help underpin their renewable and coal energy.

> The interest in MSR technology and Thorium breeding did not disappear however. China's nuclear power production relies heavily on imported uranium,[10] a strategic vulnerability in the event of i.e. economic sanctions. Additionally, the relative lack of water available for cooling PWRs west of the Hu line is a limiting factor for siting them there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TMSR-LF1?wprov=sfti1#History

> also apparently provides a way to make reactors that don’t depend as much on water so they don’t all have to be near the coast

Non-water microreactors broadly fall into two categories: ones using a different moderator, most commonly sodium, a sodium salt or helium; and those using heat pipes. Most microreactor designs don’t use water.

Nuclear plants don't need more water than a coal plant of the same power, they both use the same steam turbine with water as cold source.