Vital regulatory advances made

China's civilian rescue forces have experienced significant growth since the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008.

October 2009: The General Office of the State Council releases the Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of Grassroots Emergency Response Teams.

This document emphasizes the need to enhance grassroots comprehensive emergency rescue teams and refine the management system.

September 2010: The Regulations on Natural Disaster Relief take effect, officially recognizing civilian emergency rescue forces as a crucial element in responding to natural disasters.

October 2015: The Ministry of Civil Affairs issues the Guideline on Supporting and Guiding Social Forces to Participate in Disaster Relief Work. This is the first time that different social forces, including civilian emergency rescue organizations, have been integrated into the government's regulatory framework for disaster relief efforts.

December 2016: The Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council release a guideline aimed at advancing the reform of disaster prevention, mitigation and relief systems. The guideline encourages and supports the comprehensive involvement of social forces in activities such as normal disaster reduction, emergency rescue, residents' resettlement, and post-disaster recovery and reconstruction.

March 2018: The Ministry of Emergency Management is established, playing a guiding role in emergency rescue operations.

June 2022: The Ministry of Emergency Management introduces the 14th Five-Year Plan for the Construction of Emergency Rescue Forces. The plan calls for the formulation and issuance of opinions regarding the reinforcement of social emergency response force construction.

September 2022: The Ministry of Emergency Management issues the Basic Norms for the Construction of Social Emergency Forces, encompassing six standards, including building collapse rescue, mountain rescue, and water rescue. These norms are implemented in December.

November 2022: The Ministry of Emergency Management convenes a video symposium to address the establishment of a nationwide on-site coordination mechanism for national social emergency forces. The mechanism is aimed at achieving nationwide coverage by the first quarter of this year.

June 2023: Minister of Emergency Management, Wang Xiangxi, states during a news conference that social emergency forces have been integrated into the rescue system. There are currently some 2,300 such teams comprising nearly 50,000 individuals.