China has successfully reduced workplace accidents and enhanced disaster relief efforts during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), according to a press conference on emergency management on Wednesday.

Fatalities caused by workplace accidents in China decreased by 28.4 percent in 2024 compared to the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), said Wang Xiangxi, minister of emergency management.

The number of major and extremely serious accidents dropped into single digits for the first time in 2024, marking a 43.8 percent decrease from the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, said Wang. Key indicators for natural disasters all showed significant declines during the 2021-2024 period compared to the previous five-year plan period, with annual averages for affected individuals, fatalities and missing persons, and direct economic losses relative to GDP decreasing by 31.3 percent, 23 percent, and 34.3 percent, respectively, he noted.

Wang added that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's efforts to prevent workplace safety accidents have become more rigorous, while its emergency response to natural disasters has become more efficient.

 During this period, the central government allocated nearly 60 billion yuan (about $8.44 billion) in treasury bond funds to improve natural disaster response capabilities, with six regional emergency rescue centers mostly completed.