A circular on the issuance of a reform plan on defining respective financial powers and spending responsibilities of central and local governments in emergency rescue was released by the General Office of the State Council on July 25.

Approved by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, the plan is aimed at establishing a fiscal relationship between the central and local governments with clearly defined powers and responsibilities, and advancing modernization of China's emergency management system and capacity, according to the circular.

It is the central government's fiscal authority and expenditure responsibility to make laws, regulations, national policies, standards and technical norms about emergency rescue and organize national emergency drills, whereas local governments should cover expenditures of the field at local level, as per the plan.

The nationwide coordination and joint response mechanism for major disasters and accidents, national comprehensive management of firefighting teams should be under the central authority regarding fiscal spending.

Expenditures for construction and operation of regional emergency rescue center should be handled by both the central and local governments, while the building of local emergency rescue teams be undertaken by local authorities.

The plan also clarified the financial powers and spending responsibilities in construction of information system for emergency management, supervision and management of safe production, promotion of emergency awareness for central and local governments, respectively.

The central and local governments should be jointly responsible for spending over risk investigation of nationwide disasters and accidents, building of early-warning system for natural disasters, safe production and fire, and investigation of coal mining accidents, according to the circular.

Meanwhile, the central government should be responsible for spending over investigation of accidents, incidents and natural disasters of great severity, and international rescue of emergencies, it said.

Governments and departments at all levels should strengthen the organizational leadership, fulfill expenditure responsibilities. Also, the provincial-level governments should reasonably divide the financial powers and expenditure responsibilities below provincial level.