Xi Jinping Issues Important Instructions on 6.8-Magnitude Earthquake in Dingri County, Xigaze, Tibet, Stressing All-Out Search and Rescue, Minimizing Casualties, Proper Resettlement of Victims, Ensuring Safe and Warm Winter; Li Qiang Makes Comments
At 9:05 AM Beijing time on January 7, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Dingri County, Xigaze City, Tibet, causing significant casualties and widespread collapse of houses. Following the earthquake, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, attached great importance to the disaster and issued important instructions. He noted that the magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Dingri County, Xigaze City, Tibet, had caused heavy casualties. He emphasized the need to spare no effort in searching for and rescuing personnel, treating the injured, minimizing casualties, preventing secondary disasters, properly resettling affected people, and handling aftermath work. He also stressed strengthening earthquake monitoring and early warning, promptly allocating emergency relief supplies, rushing to repair damaged infrastructure, arranging for the basic livelihoods of the affected people, and ensuring a safe and warm winter. Li Qiang, Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, issued instructions stating the need to quickly verify the disaster situation and casualties, organize rescue and relief efforts with full force, strengthen earthquake monitoring, prevent various secondary disasters, and make every effort to reduce casualties. Given that the earthquake-stricken area is a high-altitude and cold region and it is currently winter, every possible measure must be taken to ensure the basic livelihood and warm winter for the affected people. In accordance with Xi Jinping's important instructions and Li Qiang's requirements, Zhang Guoqing, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, led responsible officials from relevant departments to the scene to guide rescue and response efforts. The Office of the National Disaster Reduction and Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management activated a Level II national earthquake emergency response. The Tibet Autonomous Region organized forces to carry out disaster relief with full effort and properly resettle the affected people. Various anti-earthquake and disaster relief efforts are currently proceeding intensely and in an orderly manner.
Resolutely Fighting the Anti-Corruption Battle: Xi Jinping's Important Speech at Fourth Plenary Session of 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Draws Enthusiastic Response
General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, emphasizing that since the new era, the efforts to comprehensively and strictly govern the Party and combat corruption have been unprecedented in scale, with widely recognized achievements. He stressed the need to consistently maintain the tenacity and perseverance of the anti-corruption struggle, which is always ongoing, maintain strategic focus and high pressure, relentlessly and unyieldingly promote the integrated approach of deterring corruption, preventing corruption, and fostering a disinclination to corrupt, and resolutely win this tough, protracted, and comprehensive battle. The General Secretary's important speech received enthusiastic responses from the comrades present.
CPC Central Committee, State Council Release Opinions on Deepening Reform and Development of Elderly Care Services
The CPC Central Committee and the State Council recently issued the "Opinions on Deepening the Reform and Development of Elderly Care Services" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"). The "Opinions" state that deepening the reform and development of elderly care services is an urgent requirement for implementing the national strategy of actively responding to population aging, an important task for ensuring and improving people's livelihoods, and crucial for the well-being of hundreds of millions of people and social harmony and stability. It emphasizes adherence to acting within one's means, strengthening scientific foresight, making forward-looking arrangements, accelerating the establishment of an elderly care service network, optimizing the elderly care service supply structure with home-based care as the foundation, community-based care as support, institutional care as professional backing, and integration of medical and elderly care, strengthening basic elderly care services with a focus on caring for the frail elderly, improving a multi-level, classified, inclusive, accessible, urban-rural encompassing, and sustainable elderly care service system, strengthening elderly health promotion, promoting the expansion and quality improvement of elderly care services, further stimulating the vitality of elderly care undertakings and industries, and better meeting the multi-level and diversified elderly care service needs of the elderly. The main goals are: by 2029, the elderly care service network will be basically established, service capacity and standards significantly enhanced, and significant progress made in expanding capacity, improving quality, and increasing efficiency, with continuous optimization of basic elderly care service supply; by 2035, the elderly care service network will be more robust, service supply and demand will be more coordinated, all elderly people will enjoy basic elderly care services, and an elderly care service system suitable for China's national conditions will be mature and finalized. The "Opinions" propose to accelerate the establishment of a three-tier elderly care service network covering urban and rural areas, coordinate the three types of elderly care services—home, community, and institutional—and build a three-party collaborative mechanism for the development of elderly care undertakings and industries, fully stimulating market vitality and promoting the large-scale, clustered, and branded development of the elderly care industry. It encourages state-owned capital to participate in the development of elderly care services, encourages state-owned enterprises and public institutions to activate idle assets to carry out elderly care services, encourages foreign investment in the domestic elderly care industry and grants national treatment, and promotes the construction of elderly care tourism destinations. The "Opinions" also put forward requirements for strengthening effective guarantees for elderly care service elements and strengthening organizational implementation.
Rescue Efforts Underway After 6.8-Magnitude Earthquake in Dingri County, Xigaze, Tibet
As of 3:00 PM today (January 7), the magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Dingri County, Xigaze City, Tibet, has resulted in 95 fatalities and 130 injuries. The Office of the National Disaster Reduction and Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management have raised the national earthquake emergency response to Level II, and various efforts such as personnel search and rescue, treatment of the injured, and resettlement of affected people are being intensified. The epicenter of this earthquake is located in Cuoguo Township, Dingri County. Within a 20-kilometer radius of the epicenter, there are 3 townships (or sub-districts) and 27 villages, with a population of approximately 6,900 people. Following the earthquake, the Tibet Autonomous Region immediately dispatched a working group to the epicenter, established special working groups for personnel treatment, material support, and infrastructure repair, and commenced work on disaster assessment, emergency response, search and rescue, evacuation, and the collection and allocation of supplies. The Western Theater Command swiftly initiated an emergency response and dispatched drones to the epicenter to survey the disaster situation. This afternoon, personnel from the forward command post flew to the earthquake-stricken area aboard a Y-20 transport aircraft to coordinate and command the anti-earthquake and disaster relief efforts. The Tibet Military Command dispatched a first contingent of 750 troops to the disaster area for rescue, and two helicopters conducted aerial surveys of the disaster situation. Three medical teams from the military, carrying relevant first aid medicines and medical equipment, rushed to the disaster relief frontline. Nearly 600 officers and soldiers of the Armed Police Tibet General Corps, carrying rescue equipment, arrived in the severely affected townships of Changsuo, Cuoguo, and Quluo to carry out rescue operations. At noon today, rescue workers from the Armed Police Dingri Squadron successfully rescued a buried person in Senga Village, Changsuo Township. After on-site emergency treatment, the person is currently out of danger. Local fire and rescue forces rushed to the scene for rescue at the first instance, and 5 detachments from Qamdo, Nyingchi, Shannan, Nagqu, and Ngari provided cross-regional reinforcement with equipment and search and rescue dogs. Currently, over 1,500 personnel from the national fire and rescue teams are conducting search and rescue operations at the epicenter. The earthquake caused power outages and road collapses in some areas. The Tibet Department of Transportation formulated an emergency repair plan and arranged forces to fully repair damaged transportation infrastructure. China Railway Qinghai-Tibet Group Co., Ltd. conducted a comprehensive inspection of railway lines, bridges, and tunnels in the affected sections. As of now, the Lhasa-Shigatse Railway, which was temporarily suspended today due to the earthquake, has resumed operation. State Grid immediately dispatched emergency repair personnel and power assurance vehicles to the scene to carry out power restoration work with full effort. As of 1:00 PM today, power supply in Dingri County has been restored. Following the earthquake, the Office of the National Disaster Prevention, Mitigation, and Relief Committee and the Ministry of Emergency Management, in conjunction with the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, urgently allocated 22,000 pieces of central relief supplies, including cotton tents, cotton overcoats, cotton quilts, and folding beds, as well as special relief supplies for high-altitude and cold regions, to the disaster area. The Red Cross Society of China Headquarters urgently allocated a batch of relief supplies and dispatched a working group. The National Health Commission urgently dispatched national emergency medical rescue teams from Peking Union Medical College Hospital and West China Hospital of Sichuan University to the earthquake-stricken area. Today, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management urgently pre-allocated 100 million yuan in central natural disaster relief funds for emergency rescue and assistance to affected people, including search and rescue, transfer and resettlement of affected personnel, emergency disposal such as danger removal and hazard elimination, investigation and emergency remediation of secondary disaster risks, and repair of collapsed and damaged houses. The National Development and Reform Commission urgently allocated 100 million yuan in central budget investment to support post-disaster emergency recovery in the Tibet earthquake-stricken area, focusing on the emergency recovery and construction of damaged roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure and public service facilities in the disaster area, to promote the rapid restoration of normal production and life order. The China Meteorological Administration predicts that over the next three days, Dingri County will primarily experience clear weather, with a minimum temperature of -18℃ and a maximum temperature of 7℃. Personnel involved in rescue and disaster avoidance should take measures to prevent cold and wind, and pay attention to safety when heating in emergency tents.
Multiple Measures Promote Construction of Unified National Market
Reporters learned today (January 7) from the National Development and Reform Commission that the "Guidelines for Building a Unified National Market (Trial)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines") have recently been issued and implemented. China will take multiple measures to accelerate the construction of a unified national market, focusing on strengthening the uniformity of basic market institutional rules, promoting high-standard connectivity of market facilities, and building a unified factor and resource market. The "Guidelines" put forward common requirements for all regions to integrate into the construction of a unified national market. A unified market access system shall be implemented, and all market access management measures legally established by local governments shall be included in the national unified negative list for market access. A unified social credit system shall be improved, and government dishonesty records shall be incorporated into government performance appraisal indicators, strengthening the construction of complaint channels for overdue payments to small and medium-sized enterprises. Addressing the problem of existing breakpoints and bottlenecks in transportation facilities, all regions shall unblock dead-end roads, fundamentally eliminate inter-provincial bottleneck sections of the national highway network, and basically unblock major bottlenecks in inter-provincial waterways. A unified labor market shall be established, household registration restrictions for participating in social insurance at the place of employment shall be completely abolished, and policies for the transfer and衔接 of social insurance relations shall be improved. At the same time, the "Guidelines" emphasize several prohibitive provisions. Illegal cross-regional law enforcement or cross-regional jurisdiction shall not be carried out, and profit-driven law enforcement and judicial activities shall be prevented and corrected in accordance with the law. Local product protection or specific product protection shall not be strengthened through targeted subsidies or local recommended catalogs, and disguised restrictions on the entry of external products into the local market shall be prohibited. All regions shall not hinder business entities from lawfully entering, exiting, and relocating on an equal basis, and shall not require business entities to register in a specific location. Furthermore, the "Guidelines" encourage regions with suitable conditions to carry out integrated regional market construction, promote strengthened communication and coordination on institutional rules and major policies in key areas, and increase exploration of cost-sharing and benefit-sharing in regional cooperation.
New Rail Lines Exceed 3,000 Kilometers, Boosting Vitality
The 2025 Spring Festival travel rush is about to begin. This year, over 3,000 kilometers of new railway lines will be put into operation for the Spring Festival travel rush, alleviating pressure on passenger and freight transportation and injecting new impetus into tourism and economic development along the routes. The recently opened Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed railway not only extends the Yangtze River Delta railway operating mileage to 15,000 kilometers but also provides more travel options for passengers in the new year. Starting from January 5, the "super loop line" of the Yangtze River Delta high-speed railway began two-way operation, allowing places like Shengze in Jiangsu and Huzhou in Zhejiang to join the Yangtze River Delta loop tourism express, continuously expanding the tourism circle of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Anhui. In 2024, the national railway added 3,113 kilometers of operating mileage, including 2,457 kilometers of high-speed rail. The "eight vertical and eight horizontal" high-speed rail network continues to expand. Regionally, the eastern network is becoming denser, with more high-speed rail lines becoming cross-provincial loops from Shanghai to Shanghai and Qingdao to Qingdao, enhancing the accessibility and convenience of the network. In the west, railways connect scenic spots; after the opening of the Sichuan-Qinghai Railway, passengers can reach Jiuzhaigou from Chengdu by high-speed train in as little as 3 hours, significantly shortening travel time and improving travel efficiency. In the north, the opening of the Jining-Datong-Yuanping high-speed railway has not only shortened the spatial and temporal distance between Shanxi and Inner Mongolia but also achieved seamless integration between the northwestern railway network and the central "mi-shaped" high-speed railway network. In 2025, the national railway operating mileage is expected to be extended by approximately another 2,600 kilometers.
China's "Little Giant" Enterprises Reach 14,600
Statistical data shows that China has cumulatively cultivated 14,600 "little giant" enterprises specializing in "specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative" products, and over 600,000 technology and innovation-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises. The cultivation of high-quality small and medium-sized enterprises is steadily progressing. In the waterways of some cities like Beijing, there are such "small disks" floating on the water. Staff told reporters that this is actually a smart water quality monitoring device utilizing quantum dot spectral sensor technology. When placed in the river, real-time water quality parameters can be transmitted back to the backend, and if any abnormality is detected, an immediate warning can be issued. In the past, it would take several days for manual inspection to find the source of pollution, but now, with such a digital monitoring system, it only takes a few hours. This product comes from a national-level "little giant" enterprise specializing in "specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative" products. Currently, nearly 15,000 such "little giant" enterprises, which are leaders in their specialized segmented fields, have been cultivated in China. Nearly 90% of these "little giant" enterprises are manufacturing enterprises, over 80% are distributed in strategic emerging industry chains such as integrated circuits and aerospace, and over 90% are supporting suppliers for well-known large domestic and international enterprises. Especially in future industries such as artificial intelligence and low-altitude economy, China has nearly 5,000 "little giant" enterprises.
Online Sales of Agricultural Products from Poverty-Stricken Areas Approach 50 Billion Yuan
Reporters learned from the All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives that as of the end of 2024, the national online sales platform for agricultural and sideline products from poverty-stricken areas has accumulated a transaction volume of nearly 50 billion yuan, effectively increasing the income of farmers in these areas. The national online sales platform for agricultural and sideline products from poverty-stricken areas primarily relies on government procurement, and through assistance measures such as building preferred brands and sales service systems, it helps stabilize the sales of high-quality agricultural and sideline products from poverty-stricken areas, transforming "assistance orders" into intrinsic drivers for industrial development in these areas. In Yuzhong, Gansu, eight types of agricultural and sideline products, including plateau vegetables and beef and lamb, have been sold outside the mountains through the platform. In Wanqüan, Hebei, the platform has teamed up with the government and leading enterprises to create a fresh corn characteristic industrial cluster. In Luocheng, Guangxi, the kumquats sold on the platform have been upgraded to third-generation products. Currently, over 30,000 suppliers from 832 national-level poverty-stricken counties have joined the platform, continuously enriching the categories of agricultural and sideline products available online. There are over 350,000 types of famous, high-quality, local, and special products for sale, and over 680,000 registered purchasing units.
Preparations for 9th Asian Winter Games Progress Steadily
The 9th Asian Winter Games will open in Harbin, Heilongjiang, on February 7. Today (January 7), the main media center for the Asian Winter Games began trial operation and held a press conference, providing a comprehensive overview of the preparations for the event. According to the press conference, due to the large number of participating teams and longer schedules for ice hockey and curling competitions, they will start earlier, on February 3 and 4 respectively. Therefore, the Asian Winter Games will last for a total of 12 days. Starting from September 2024, the Executive Committee of the Asian Winter Games planned 14 sports events as test events, achieving full coverage of all competition venues and disciplines. Today, the cross-country skiing test event completed women's and men's individual sprint, relay, and other events at the Yabuli Ski Resort, conducting a comprehensive warm-up and drill for the timing and scoring team, competition team, medical team, meteorological team, Yabuli Ski Resort, and other major competition systems. At the same time, rehearsal work for the opening and closing ceremonies is also proceeding in an orderly manner, entering the combined rehearsal stage. As of now, the organizing committee has received registration information from 1,275 athletes from 34 countries/regions in Asia, and this Asian Winter Games is expected to have the largest number of participating countries/regions and athletes.
Anti-Corruption for the People Documentary Airs Third Episode Tonight
The third episode of the TV documentary "Anti-Corruption for the People," titled "Unmasking Hidden Corruption," will be broadcast tonight (January 7) at 8:00 PM on CCTV-1. It will tell how discipline inspection and supervision organs, in implementing the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, continuously deepen their understanding of the laws governing the anti-corruption struggle, constantly keep a close eye on new and hidden forms of corruption, and continuously enrich effective prevention and control methods to unmask hidden corruption, ensuring that the power entrusted by the Party and the people is always used to seek happiness for the people.
Domestic News Briefs
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Launches 10-Gigabit Optical Network Pilot The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology today (January 7) issued the "Notice on Launching 10-Gigabit Optical Network Pilot Work," proposing that by the end of 2025, in cities and regions with suitable conditions and foundations, focusing on key scenarios such as communities, factories, and industrial parks, 10-gigabit optical network pilot projects will be carried out. 10-gigabit optical networks will significantly improve network speed, latency, and network reliability compared to existing networks. Currently, Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and other regions have already explored applications of 10-gigabit optical networks. China's Valid Domestic Invention Patents Reach 4.756 Million in 2024 Reporters learned today (January 7) from the National Intellectual Property Administration that in 2024, China's valid domestic invention patents reached 4.756 million, and the number of valid invention patents in strategic emerging industries reached 1.349 million, a year-on-year increase of 15.7%, indicating both an increase in quantity and quality of intellectual property. China Successfully Launches Shijian-25 Satellite At 4:00 AM today (January 7), China successfully launched the Shijian-25 satellite using a Long March 3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The satellite successfully entered its predetermined orbit. The satellite is mainly used for in-orbit verification of satellite refueling and life extension services. Shanghai Port Container Throughput Exceeds 51.5 Million TEUs in 2024 Reporters learned from Shanghai International Port Group that in 2024, Shanghai Port's container throughput exceeded 51.5 million TEUs, an increase of approximately 4.8% year-on-year, ranking first globally for 15 consecutive years. At the same time, Shanghai Port's sea-rail intermodal transport exceeded 900,000 TEUs in 2024, reaching a new historical high. China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base China-Europe (Asia) Express Train Volume Reaches Record High Reporters learned from Nanjing Customs that in 2024, the cumulative volume of China-Europe (Asia) express trains from the China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base reached 74,700 TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 13%, setting a new historical high. The 41st China·Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival Held The 41st China·Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival is being held at the Harbin Ice-Snow World. The Ice and Snow Festival creates six new ice and snow tourism scenarios and organizes over a hundred ice and snow festival and competition activities. It is understood that since the opening of the Ice-Snow World half a month ago, the total number of tourists received by Harbin city has increased by 21.3% year-on-year, with a 56.3% year-on-year increase in tourists from outside the province.
Russia Claims Accelerated Control of Donetsk Region, Ukraine Reports Expanded Control in Kursk Direction
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on the 6th that after gaining control of the key city of Kurakhove in the Donetsk region, Russian forces would further accelerate their pace in controlling the Donetsk region. The Russian Ministry of Defense also stated that the Ukrainian army's breakthrough offensive in the Kursk direction had been thwarted. Ukrainian media reported on the 6th, citing a Ukrainian military spokesperson, that street fighting in Kurakhove was still ongoing. Serhiy Leshchenko, an advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said on the 6th that the area controlled by the Ukrainian army in the Kursk direction was expanding. The Slovak News Agency reported on the 6th that after Ukraine stopped transiting Russian natural gas, Slovak gas suppliers are currently almost exclusively using pipeline connections with Hungary to transport natural gas, and the volume of gas transported is far from meeting domestic demand.
Yemen's Houthi Group Claims Attacks on US Aircraft Carrier, Israeli Targets
The Yemeni Houthi movement announced on the 6th that it had carried out a military operation in the Red Sea against the USS Truman aircraft carrier using missiles and four drones, at a time when the U.S. military was preparing to launch a large-scale air strike against Yemen. The operation successfully thwarted the U.S. military's air strike attempt. The Houthi movement also stated that it had launched three attacks on targets in Tel Aviv, Israel, and other locations. The U.S. military and the Israel Defense Forces have not yet responded to this. The Palestinian health department in the Gaza Strip stated on the 6th that Israeli attacks had killed at least 49 Palestinians in the past 24 hours. World Food Programme condemns Israeli military for firing on its humanitarian convoy The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) issued a statement on the 6th condemning the Israeli military for firing on its clearly marked humanitarian convoy in the Gaza Strip on the 5th. The statement called it an unacceptable "horrendous incident" and urged all parties to respect international humanitarian law and ensure the safe passage of humanitarian aid.
Indonesia Becomes Official BRICS Member
Brazil, the rotating chair of the BRICS group in 2025, announced on the 6th that Indonesia has become a formal member of BRICS. A communiqué issued by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that, like other BRICS members, Indonesia has consistently supported global governance reform and is willing to contribute to deepening cooperation among "Global South" countries, which aligns with Brazil's theme for this year. The communiqué said that BRICS countries unanimously agreed to Indonesia's accession to the BRICS mechanism. Indonesia stated that it will actively contribute to the BRICS agenda. The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs today (January 7) issued a statement saying that Indonesia will actively contribute to the BRICS agenda, strengthen cooperation with other emerging economies, promote common principles of equality, mutual respect, and sustainable development, and build a just, peaceful, and prosperous world.
International News Briefs
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau Announces Resignation Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated on the 6th that he would resign as leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister of Canada after the ruling Liberal Party elects a new leader. During this period, his government will remain focused on addressing issues such as the tariff threats from U.S. President-elect Trump. Recently, Trudeau's approval ratings have declined due to factors such as the sluggish Canadian economy, and several members of his cabinet have resigned. Local polls show that the Liberal Party's approval rating currently lags the opposition Conservative Party by about 20 percentage points. Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel File Lawsuit Against U.S. Government Nippon Steel Corporation and United States Steel Corporation on the 6th filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration, accusing President Biden and other senior U.S. government officials of "illegally interfering" with Nippon Steel's acquisition of U.S. Steel and infringing upon legitimate corporate rights. The two companies also sued another U.S. steel company, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., and its CEO Lourenco Goncalves, as well as United Steelworkers President David McCall, alleging that they illegally blocked the acquisition deal. Eiji Hashimoto, President of Nippon Steel Corporation, held a press conference today (January 7) stating that the Biden administration's decision was an illegal political intervention, and the company would not abandon its acquisition plan. U.S. Reports First Human Death from Bird Flu in the Country The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated on the 6th that Louisiana reported the country's first human death from the H5 avian influenza virus. The patient was over 65 years old, had underlying health conditions, and had contact with poultry. Since last year, 66 cases of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus have been reported across the United States. The U.S. CDC stated that no human-to-human transmission has been found so far.