China steps up efforts to build stronger emergency response system

China will strengthen disaster prevention, emergency response and workplace safety during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030). Officials also outlined plans to improve monitoring, training and mine safety, and cited 67 standards for identifying major accident hazards.

BEIJING, Oct. 21 -- China will step up efforts to prevent and respond to natural disasters and strengthen workplace safety during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), aiming to better protect people's lives and property, officials said on Wednesday.

Over the next five years, China will improve disaster monitoring and early warning and strengthen disaster prevention and risk reduction at the grassroots level in response to emerging risks and challenges, Song Yuanming, vice minister of emergency management, told a press conference.

China will also enhance the training of emergency management professionals and basic research on natural disasters, while developing advanced and practical emergency response equipment with the help of artificial intelligence, Song said.

In recent years, China has expanded the use of high-tech equipment in disaster prevention and response. During this year's flood season, for example, drones, fiber-optic sensors and electromagnetic detection devices were used to inspect embankments for piping and seepage risks.

On workplace safety, China will work to introduce a regulation clarifying the criteria for identifying major accident hazards, enterprises' responsibilities for investigating them, and regulators' accountability, Song said.

To date, 31 government departments have issued 67 standards for identifying major accident hazards, Song said.

In the mining sector, China will strengthen work safety accountability at all levels and accelerate the shift toward a preventive approach to safety management, said Zhang Ruiting, deputy administrator of the National Mine Safety Administration.

China will leverage digital and intelligent technologies to improve mine safety and upgrade equipment used in challenging mining environments, to strengthen disaster prevention and control, Zhang said.