Regulatory Ripples Expected in Aftermath of Tianjin Explosion

In the aftermath of the deadly explosion in Tianjin on August 12, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top leaders have made numerous public pronouncements regarding the importance of safe and clean development, sending a top-level signal to central government ministries and local government to put in place regulatory safeguards that will prevent such catastrophes from recurring. 

"We must perfect our emergency mechanisms, increase regulatory enforcement, deeply investigate and mitigate dangers, increase safe manufacturing protections, and aggressively push forward a fundamental change in our manufacturing," said President Xi, quoted by Xinhua News Agency. 

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) was quick to publish several articles on their official website describing their efforts to work with China's three telecommunications carriers - Unicom, Mobile and Telecom - to restore telecommunications systems for the rescue effort. According to MIIT, 58 base stations went down in the direct aftermath of the explosion. 

The explosion occurred in Tianjin's Binhai New Area district, a 46.8 square kilometer area outside the Tianjin city center that is part of the geographic scope of the Tianjin Free-Trade Zone. Binhai New Area is adjacent to the Port of Tianjin, the largest port in northern China and the main maritime gateway to Beijing.