The journal Qiushi has published an important article by General Secretary Xi Jinping.
Enhancing Disaster Prevention, Mitigation, and Relief Capabilities

2026-08-15 Source: “Study in China” Learning Platform

BEIJING, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) — The 16th issue of the journal Qiushi, to be published on August 16, will feature an important article by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People’s Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, entitled “Enhancing Disaster Prevention, Reduction, and Relief Capabilities.”

The article emphasizes that China’s vast territory, complex geography, and diverse climate make it prone to frequent natural disasters. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee has consistently treated disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief as matters of paramount importance for the safety of the people and national security, making numerous arrangements in areas such as conceptual shifts, institutional reforms, system building, and capacity enhancement. Under its leadership, cadres and the general public have successfully withstood a series of severe and extremely severe natural disasters, minimizing casualties and property losses—achievements widely recognized around the world. To effectively carry out disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief work, it is essential to uphold the Party’s overall leadership, put the people and life first, respect the laws of nature, prioritize prevention, pursue reform and innovation, adopt a systems‑based approach, and promote social co‑governance. These invaluable lessons must be firmly upheld and effectively applied, while being continuously enriched and developed in light of new realities.

The article points out that China’s disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief efforts currently face numerous new circumstances and challenges. It is essential to adopt a strategic perspective that integrates high-quality development with high-level security, fully recognize the paramount importance of these endeavors, and focus on leveraging strengths, addressing weaknesses, and reinforcing areas of vulnerability. By doing so, we can continuously enhance our capacity and capability to prevent and respond to various natural disasters, effectively safeguard the lives and property of the people, maintain social stability, and ensure that Chinese‑style modernization progresses steadily and sustainably.

The article emphasizes the need to shift disaster governance toward proactive prevention. It calls for steadfast source‑level control, integrating safety and resilience considerations into land‑use planning and all types of development plans to effectively mitigate natural hazard risks. Efforts should be strengthened to identify and address potential hazards, systematically mapping and precisely pinpointing various disaster risks. Engineering‑based measures must be reinforced by appropriately raising design standards for critical infrastructure in major cities and high‑risk areas, while urgently addressing gaps in flood‑control, drainage, and disaster‑resilience infrastructure in northern regions. Targeted preventive measures should be intensified in high‑risk zones to effectively reduce existing risks and curb the emergence of new ones.

The article emphasizes the need to enhance our capacity to respond to and manage large-scale, catastrophic disasters. It calls for firmly anchoring ourselves in bottom-line and extreme‑scenario thinking, conducting thorough risk assessments of major disasters, continuously refining emergency response plans, and more fully anticipating difficulties and challenges while devising more comprehensive measures. We must strengthen the monitoring and early‑warning system, improving the timeliness, accuracy, and reach of alerts. Furthermore, we should refine the emergency command mechanism within a robust framework for comprehensive safety and emergency management, ensuring that we can mobilize effectively, deploy swiftly, and prevail when the going gets tough. We must coordinate efforts across integrated rescue operations, temporary resettlement, and post‑disaster recovery and reconstruction, preventing the transmission and spread of natural disaster risks. As a socialist country, we must deliver outstanding results in every major disaster and test, thereby fully demonstrating the superiority of the socialist system.

The article emphasizes the need to strengthen both technological support and legal safeguards. On the technological front, it calls for fully leveraging the advantages of the new whole‑nation system to advance scientific and industrial innovation in the emergency response sector, bolster the development of emergency‑related disciplines and talent cultivation, conduct in-depth basic research on natural disasters, accelerate breakthroughs in key technologies, and deepen international cooperation and exchanges in disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief. In terms of the rule of law, it advocates improving the legal framework for emergency management, integrating sound legislation with rigorous law enforcement, and further elevating the level of legal governance in disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief.

The article emphasizes the need to strengthen the grassroots foundation for disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief. The grassroots level serves as the first line of defense against natural disasters, and efforts to reinforce it must remain a top priority. It calls for improving the grassroots emergency response system, bolstering the development of emergency shelters, and ensuring adequate supplies and equipment. Furthermore, it advocates encouraging and supporting the growth of community-based emergency response forces and refining the systems of mass monitoring, prevention, and governance. Finally, it underscores the importance of intensifying public outreach and education on disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief, thereby enhancing the public’s awareness and capacity to prevent and respond to hazards.

The article emphasizes the need to rigorously ensure accountability. Disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief efforts involve multiple departments, diverse types of disasters, and numerous stages; therefore, it is imperative to clearly define responsibilities, tighten the chain of accountability, and pool resources to forge a concerted response. All regions and relevant departments must fulfill their duties, adhere to the principles of integrating unified leadership with decentralized implementation, linking prevention with rescue, and coordinating across all levels, thereby fostering a working framework characterized by joint governance and seamless inter‑agency collaboration.

The article emphasizes that, in carrying out disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief efforts, it is essential to uphold and put into practice a correct view of political achievements, resolutely correcting tendencies such as prioritizing development over safety and relief over prevention. Furthermore, it calls for strengthening education and training to enhance the capacity of cadres at all levels in disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief, ensuring that awareness, responsibilities, and actions are fully in place.

Editor-in-charge: Zhang Qiulan