BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's efforts to strengthen accident prevention and enforcement led to a decline in both the number of production safety accidents and fatalities in 2025.
Official data released by the Ministry of Emergency Management on Thursday shows that 18,261 people died in 19,884 workplace safety accidents nationwide last year, representing year-on-year decreases of 7 percent in deaths and 8.7 percent in accident numbers.
A key highlight of the 2025 data was the total absence of extraordinarily serious accidents. Under national regulations, this category refers to incidents that result in at least 30 deaths, 100 serious injuries, or 100 million yuan (about 14.2 million U.S. dollars) in direct economic losses.
This improvement in workplace safety is the result of a systemic shift toward a prevention-oriented safety governance model, according to the ministry.
In 2025, the State Council Work Safety Committee deployed 22 central-level inspection teams. These teams identified over 17,000 safety hazards, including 585 major accident risks, and supervised the handling of problems and hidden risks reported by both employees and the public.
Last year, China faced natural disasters including floods, geological hazards, earthquakes, typhoons and hailstorms, which affected 67.03 million people and caused direct economic losses of 241.62 billion yuan. The year saw 24 national-level disaster emergency responses, the highest in nearly a decade.
To enhance resilience, the ministry implemented an innovative relief logistics model described as "county-managed, township-stored, village-utilized." By allocating in advance nearly 400,000 relief items to 400 counties with high disaster risks, the country ensured the immediate delivery of relief supplies in the event of extreme conditions in which roads, electricity and communications are entirely severed, according to the ministry.
The efficiency of this people-centered approach was proven following the 6.8-magnitude earthquake in Dingri, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, in early 2025. Despite the remote location, the first batch of central relief funds and supplies reached the disaster zone in just six hours, ensuring basic necessities for the affected residents. ■
