Chinese consulate in Los Angeles pledges 24/7 service amid wildfires

The Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles has received no reports of casualties among Chinese nationals following severe wildfires in the region, Consul General Guo Shaochun said Monday.

Guo emphasized the consulate's commitment to strengthening consular protection services, including maintaining round-the-clock access to emergency phone and email assistance.

"We will continue to monitor the information from all parties, maintaining close communication with our compatriots in the consular region. At the same time, we will continue to ensure 24/7 availability of emergency phone, email assistance and other emergency channels. Despite the difficulties, we'll keep the consular documents hall open as usual. This will allow overseas Chinese in need, especially those who may have lost their passports in the wildfires, to access essential documents in a timely manner. Our consulate general will tide over the difficulties together with the overseas Chinese community in the region," he said.

The death toll from the ravaging wildfires in Los Angeles has risen to 24, local authorities confirmed on Sunday.

The Palisades Fire, currently the largest active wildfire in the Los Angeles area, has scorched over 23,700 acres (about 96 square km) and destroyed more than 5,300 structures since last Tuesday, with only 11 percent of the blaze contained.

The Eaton Fire, which has scorched more than 14,100 acres (about 57.1 square km) near Altadena and Pasadena, is currently 27 percent contained.

More than 12,300 structures had been destroyed, and over 100,000 people remained evacuated from multiple disaster zones covering over 40,000 acres (about 161.9 square km) as of Sunday.

Chinese consulate in Los Angeles pledges 24/7 service amid wildfires

Chinese consulate in Los Angeles pledges 24/7 service amid wildfires

Chinese consulate in Los Angeles pledges 24/7 service amid wildfires

Chinese consulate in Los Angeles pledges 24/7 service amid wildfires

Chinese consulate in Los Angeles pledges 24/7 service amid wildfires

China will roll out a series of targeted measures to stabilize investment and unlock greater space for private capital, an official said on Thursday.

Chen Changsheng, deputy director of the State Council Research Office who participated in the drafting of this year's Government Work Report, made the statement at a press briefing held in Beijing.

He noted that China will leverage the guiding role of government funding and the driving effect of major projects to shore up investment.

Total government investment this year is set to exceed five trillion yuan (about 725 billion U.S. dollars), which will come from central budget investment and local government special bonds for major national strategies and security capacity building projects and equipment upgrades. Meanwhile, 109 major projects have been planned in the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030).

China will also stimulate investment by opening up more application scenarios for businesses.

On the traditional front, a long-term mechanism will be improved to encourage private enterprises to participate in major national projects. For emerging sectors, China will further open scenarios in biomedicine, aerospace, and the low-altitude economy.

"Low-altitude economy has developed rapidly in recent years, with sound applications seen in fields such as agriculture, forestry plant protection, as well as surveying and inspection. Going forward, we will accelerate the opening of airspace resources and streamline approval procedures for low-altitude flights. This will unlock new scenarios including low-altitude logistics and urban management. Similar new opportunities can also be found in service robots and other sectors, all of which will create new space for private investment," Chen said.

By deepening reforms to further unlock investment potential, China will ease market access in the service sector, speed up revisions to the Bidding Law and the Government Procurement Law, and advance price reforms to broaden investment access for more enterprises.

"We will see a new round of investment potential unleashed. Major projects including the national water network, a new round of power grid upgrades, new generation communication networks, and computing power networks will drive massive investment, including demand from urban development. In addition, the campaign this year to expand and upgrade the service sector and the development of emerging industries will further expand space for private investment," Chen noted.

China to take measures to boost investment, expand space for private investment in 2026: official