Li Qiang Chairs State Council on Flood Relief, Digital China

Chinese Premier Li Qiang presided over a State Council executive meeting in Beijing on July 10, addressing six major agenda items ranging from emergency flood control to long-term strategic initiatives, including Digital China construction and the approval of a new five-year national fitness plan. The meeting convened against the devastating backdrop of catastrophic flooding across southern China caused by Typhoon Maysak, which has claimed at least 50 lives and left 10 missing across Guangxi and Hubei provinces.

Flood Control Takes Center Stage

The meeting’s first and most urgent agenda item was the further deployment of flood prevention, anti-flood, and disaster relief efforts. According to Xinhua News Agency, the meeting emphasized that all regions and departments must thoroughly implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s instructions and maintain heightened vigilance. Officials were directed to establish “bottom-line thinking” and “extreme thinking,” overcome complacency, and conduct thorough risk inspections — particularly of weak embankments, warning-level river sections, and dangerous small and medium-sized reservoirs.

The urgency of the directive reflects the severity of the ongoing disaster. Typhoon Maysak made landfall in Hainan on July 3 before re-entering China from Vietnam on July 5, triggering extreme rainfall across multiple provinces. In Guangxi, the 66-year-old Liulan Reservoir developed an approximately 50-meter breach on July 6, while the Yunbiao Reservoir also experienced overtopping. The Dongban River in Binyang County recorded a “50-year flood,” with water levels rising to near second-floor height. The government has allocated over 260 million RMB in disaster relief funds, as reported by Yicai.

Digital China and Infrastructure Acceleration

Beyond the immediate crisis response, the meeting maintained focus on long-term strategic priorities. The State Council heard a report on Digital China construction and called for the systematic advancement of the initiative. Officials emphasized the need to deploy digital infrastructure with “appropriately forward-looking”布局 (layout), accelerate the construction of next-generation communication networks and computing power networks, and enhance digital and intelligent capabilities to comprehensively empower economic and social development, as detailed by JRJ Financial.

The meeting also addressed the development of a modern logistics system, calling for the identification and remediation of weaknesses in circulation infrastructure, the development of multimodal transport, and further reduction of circulation costs.

Emerging Industries and Natural Resource Strategy

In a significant policy signal, the State Council discussed the cultivation of new pillar industries. The meeting called for promoting large-scale development of emerging pillar industries across the entire chain, strengthening basic research and key software and hardware development, and supporting multi-technology route布局. This approach suggests the government is keeping multiple technology options open rather than selecting single winners, a strategy that allows for adaptation as technologies mature.

On natural resource protection, the meeting emphasized strengthening the implementation of the major function zone strategy, optimizing territorial spatial development patterns, and relying on metropolitan areas and city clusters to create high-quality development power sources. Notably, officials called for enhancing territorial spatial security resilience and comprehensively improving natural disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities — a direct acknowledgment of the vulnerabilities exposed by the current flood crisis.

National Fitness Plan Approved

The meeting concluded with the approval of the National Fitness Plan (2026–2030), continuing China’s long-term strategy to improve public health outcomes. The plan calls for increasing the supply of fitness facilities and venues through multiple channels, intensifying the development of school sports, organizing various mass sporting events, and innovating the development of the health industry to better safeguard the full life-cycle health of the population.

Analysis and Outlook

The July 10 State Council meeting demonstrates the Chinese government’s characteristic crisis management approach: immediate disaster response combined with continued focus on long-term strategic goals. The dual emphasis on flood control and digital infrastructure suggests increased government spending in both traditional water conservancy projects and new digital infrastructure. The meeting also signals that despite the ongoing humanitarian crisis, Beijing remains committed to its medium-term economic transformation agenda.

Looking ahead, key questions remain. What specific funding allocations were approved for flood relief beyond the previously announced 260 million RMB? Which specific emerging industries are being targeted for pillar status? And what concrete measures will be taken to address the reservoir safety issues highlighted by the dam breaches in Guangxi? The answers to these questions will shape China’s policy trajectory in the months ahead as the government balances crisis management with strategic development.

Reporting based on Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily, Yicai, and JRJ Financial.