China Daily:

This year, extreme weather events have been frequent in China with many areas experiencing natural disasters, such as rainstorms and floods, and some provinces have even been severely impacted. Could you please elaborate on the work that the Ministry of Finance has done to support local disaster reduction and relief efforts? What are the considerations for the next steps? Thank you.

Wang Dongwei:

I will have my colleague, Mr. Fu Jinling, answer this question.

Fu Jinling:

Thank you for your questions. As you mentioned, since the start of this year's flood season, China has experienced 23 instances of widespread heavy rainfall, affecting over 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities to varying degrees with torrential rains and floods. Some areas have even suffered from the impact of heavy rainfall repeatedly. In accordance with the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the Ministry of Finance has always adhered to the principles of putting people and their lives first. We have focused on three aspects: "building mechanisms, strengthening safeguards and prioritizing efficiency," effectively ensuring the safety of people's lives and property.

In terms of building mechanisms, the Ministry of Finance closely coordinates with the departments of emergency management, agriculture, water resources and transportation to establish three stable and efficient work mechanisms. This includes a disaster information sharing mechanism, a rapid approval and allocation mechanism for central natural disaster relief funds, and a tiered responsibility mechanism for post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. Each department closely monitors the occurrence, development and changes in natural disasters across regions, strengthens disaster reporting as well as conducts pre-research, anticipation and prediction in response preparation. Once a major natural disaster emergency response is initiated, the Ministry of Finance immediately disburses funds through the rapid approval and allocation mechanism for disaster relief funds, supporting local authorities in organizing timely rescue and relief efforts and properly resettling affected populations. After the disaster, efforts are accelerated to support recovery and reconstruction to quickly restore order to production and daily life in the affected areas.

In terms of strengthening safeguards, since the beginning of this year, the central government has allocated 11.5 billion yuan in disaster relief funds to localities, providing strong financial support. These funds include natural disaster relief funds for the relocation, settlement and emergency rescue of affected populations, agricultural disaster prevention and relief funds for restoring agricultural production, water conservancy disaster relief funds for repairing water-damaged water conservancy facilities, and funds for emergency road clearance and infrastructure construction. In 2023, an additional 1 trillion yuan in government bonds was issued, specifically for post-disaster recovery and reconstruction and enhancing disaster prevention, mitigation and relief capabilities, providing solid financial support for disaster prevention and mitigation efforts across the country this year.

In terms of prioritizing efficiency, since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Finance has activated the rapid approval and allocation mechanism for natural disaster relief funds six times. The central natural disaster relief funds were disbursed within 24 hours following disasters such as the breach of the Dongting Lake dike in Yueyang, Hunan province, the outbreak of flash floods and mudslides in Ya'an, Sichuan province, and the collapse of a highway bridge due to torrential rains in Shangluo, Shaanxi province. This provided financial support to ensure that the affected populations had a place to stay, hot meals and clean drinking water. At the same time, the Ministry of Finance bears in mind that disaster relief funds are money for critical needs of the people, always strictly supervising its use as well as resolutely and seriously investigating and punishing any violations as soon as they are discovered.

China is currently in the critical flood control period from late July to early August, heightened by the active phase of typhoons, the flood control situation has become increasingly severe and complex. Next, the Ministry of Finance will resolutely implement the important speeches of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the guiding principles from the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on July 25. We will always maintain a tight focus on flood prevention and control, continue to strengthen close communication with relevant departments, carefully track the development and changes of the disaster situation, timely allocate disaster relief funds, and resolutely win the tough battle of flood prevention, control and disaster relief. Thank you.