Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out rescue efforts to minimize casualties after a magnitude-6.8 earthquake jolted southwest China's Sichuan Province, stressing that saving lives should be taken as the primary task.

Xi made the instruction after the quake hit Luding County at 12:52 p.m. on Monday. The quake had killed more than 30 people as of 9:00 p.m. on Monday, according to media reports.

The president stressed the need to strengthen earthquake monitoring to prevent secondary disasters and step up efforts to relocate affected people.

The Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) and other relevant departments should send working groups to Sichuan to guide the earthquake relief work, Xi added.

The People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police Force must actively assist local authorities in emergency rescue and relief work, Xi said, demanding them to ensure the safety of people's lives and property.

Premier Li Keqiang also urged swift evaluation of the situation, as well as all-out rescue and medical treatment efforts. 

He urged locals to stay alert for secondary disasters such as landslides, and called for efforts to accommodate those from quake-hit areas and fix damaged transportation and telecommunication infrastructure as quickly as possible.

The MEM said it has dispatched a team led by Min Yiren, head of the China Earthquake Administration, to guide the disaster relief work in Luding.

Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture has dispatched a 635-person rescue force composed of armed police, firefighters, medical workers, communication professionals, power technicians, and transportation professionals to carry out rescue work.

The epicenter was monitored at 29.59 degrees north latitude and 102.08 degrees east longitude, at a depth of 16 km, the China Earthquake Networks Center said.

(Cover: Fallen debris is seen on a road in Luding County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, September 5, 2022. /Xinhua)