Need for improvements across board crucial, president tells top leadership

President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has underlined the importance of improving China's emergency management, calling it a crucial element in the country's capacity for governance.

Xi made the remark on Friday while presiding over a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee as it examined the country's emergency management systems and capabilities.

China has suffered some of the world's most serious natural disasters and faces an increasing number of factors that endanger public safety, Xi said, pointing to an urgent need to strengthen emergency management for the long run.

He said this reflects the important responsibility of the government to prevent and defuse major safety risks and cope with various hazards in a timely manner, as well as to fulfill the important missions of protecting people's lives and property and maintaining social stability.

Noting that the country's systems and capabilities for handling natural disasters and dealing with accidents in the workplace have been improving, he urged additional efforts to further modernize by giving full play to the systems' features and advantages.

The country should improve its mechanisms for preventing and defusing risks, strengthen safety assessments in key sectors — for example, hazardous chemicals, mining, road transportation and firefighting — as well as enhance its capabilities in comprehensive monitoring and early warnings for various hazards, Xi said.

He also called for strengthening emergency plan management, precise administration and law-based management, adding that public safety awareness should also be intensified through education.

He stressed the need for the country to strengthen its emergency rescue teams with qualified and highly professional and skilled people capable of effective action, including enhanced air rescue ability.

Xi also called for strengthening technological support for emergency equipment through research and development to optimize and integrate various science and technology resources and promote independent technological innovation. Leveraging information technology is also essential, he said.

Xi urged Party committees and governments at all levels to take major responsibility and devote themselves to the task.

In addition, Xi said, because rescue efforts require great dedication and sacrifice, care should be taken to ensure that rescue teams feel honored in their chosen career.