China Unveils Plan for Modern Emergency Response System

China’s State Council has formally issued the “Modern Emergency Response System Construction 15th Five-Year Plan,” a comprehensive blueprint aimed at overhauling the country’s capacity to prevent and respond to natural disasters, public health incidents, and industrial accidents. The plan, approved at a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang on May 21 and officially released on June 8, sets ambitious targets through 2030 and 2035.

A Strategic Shift Toward Prevention

The plan marks a fundamental shift in China’s emergency management philosophy — from reactive crisis response to prevention-oriented governance. According to the State Council, the plan emphasizes “adhering to a holistic approach to national security, coordinating development and security, with high-level security ensuring high-quality development as the theme, and promoting the transformation of governance models to prevention-oriented approaches as the main line.”

As reported by People’s Daily, the plan outlines five key tasks: deepening emergency management reform and building a “big safety, big emergency” framework; strengthening risk source control and accelerating the shift to prevention-oriented governance; optimizing emergency force deployment for major disasters; reinforcing full-factor support systems for major emergencies; and consolidating grassroots emergency response foundations. These tasks are supported by 17 key projects organized into five major categories.

Timeline and Targets

The plan establishes a two-phase timeline. By 2030, China aims to achieve “significant progress in the modernization of its emergency management system and capabilities,” with a prevention-oriented governance model effectively in place and a more robust, centralized emergency command mechanism under the “big safety, big emergency” framework. By 2035, the goal is to “complete a major-country emergency system with Chinese characteristics adapted to basic modernization,” realizing full implementation of law-based, scientific, and smart emergency response.

Xinhua News Agency reported that the plan calls for integrated improvements in disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief capabilities, alongside comprehensive safety rectification across key industries.

Addressing Urgent Challenges

The plan’s release comes amid heavy rainfall across multiple regions in China, with heightened risks of mountain floods, geological disasters, and medium-to-small river flooding. Sun Hongquan, a researcher at the National Institute of Natural Disaster Prevention under the Ministry of Emergency Management, stressed the importance of risk source control, telling the State Council that authorities must “do a good job of monitoring, forecasting, and early warning during heavy rainfall, especially in remote mountainous areas and at night.”

The State Council executive meeting underscored that “emergency management concerns the safety of people’s lives and property, and concerns the overall situation of reform, development, and stability.” The meeting also highlighted the need to strengthen grassroots emergency capacity, building on the State Council’s previously issued opinions on grassroots fire safety work.

Technology and Institutional Modernization

A key feature of the plan is its emphasis on integrating advanced technologies — including artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and drones — into emergency management systems. The plan also identifies the safety emergency equipment industry for growth, with support for supply chain innovation and major technical equipment development.

On the institutional front, the plan calls for revisions to multiple laws, including the Fire Prevention Law, Earthquake Prevention Law, and Mine Safety Law. It also provides for the establishment of an Emergency Management University and four fire rescue colleges, signaling significant investment in professional training and education.

International Engagement

The plan includes provisions for strengthening international cooperation, particularly through the Belt and Road Initiative mechanism for natural disaster prevention and emergency management. It calls for enhanced collaboration with United Nations agencies and international organizations, and includes participation in international humanitarian emergency rescue operations.

Implementation and Oversight

The Ministry of Emergency Management, established in 2018 as part of a major government restructuring, will be responsible for conducting mid-term and final evaluations of the plan’s implementation. The plan calls for a diversified investment guarantee pattern, requiring significant public and private resources to achieve its ambitious targets.

Looking Ahead

Analysts see the plan as a signal that the Chinese government is prioritizing emergency management as a core governance function, directly linking it to national security and social stability. The emphasis on grassroots capacity building suggests a push to strengthen the lowest levels of governance, while the technology integration components point to a modern, data-driven approach to disaster management.

Key questions remain regarding specific budget allocations for the 17 key projects, how this plan differs from its 14th Five-Year predecessor, and the timeline for legislative revisions. As climate change intensifies extreme weather events, the plan’s success will depend on effective coordination across multiple government levels and agencies.