Continuous heavy rainfall has caused 17 rivers across China to swell past their flood warning levels between 08:00 Saturday and 08:00 Sunday, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.
Sixteen rivers in Beijing, Hebei Province, Shanxi Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the north, Gansu Province in the northwest, Fujian Province in the east, and Yunnan Province in the southwest have seen their water levels rise above the warning thresholds, by as much as 3.48 meters, the ministry said.
The Miyun Reservoir in the northeastern district of Miyun -- Beijing's largest -- has seen its heaviest water inflow since its construction was completed in 1959.
A section of the Yarkant River, the most flood-prone river in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has seen its water level crest above the flood stage due to faster snow melting caused high summer temperatures.
The Ministry of Water Resources has activated a Level-IV emergency response to flooding in six provincial-level regions including Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Fujian, Zhejiang and Shaanxi.
A Level-IV response is the lowest level in China's four-tier emergency response system.
17 rivers nationwide swell past flood warning levels
China will take further steps to expand high-standard opening-up and create a new landscape of win-win cooperation in 2026, which marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said in a recent interview with China Media Group.
Wang said opening up and cooperation for mutual benefit are integral to Chinese modernization. This year, China will actively expand voluntary opening up.
The country will steadily open up such areas as value-added telecommunications, biotechnology and wholly foreign-owned hospitals, while accelerating comprehensive pilot and demonstration programs for expanded opening-up in the services sector, he noted.
"We will expand the scope and regions of unilateral opening-up and ensure the implementation of zero-tariff treatment on 100 percent of tariff lines for all African countries that have diplomatic relations with China. We will vigorously promote the effective implementation of policies for special customs operations of the Hainan Free Trade Port, further enhance the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, optimize the regional layout and coverage of pilot free trade zones, and support these zones in carrying out more robust institutional opening-up trials in areas such as market access, environmental standards and government procurement, so as to better leverage their role as comprehensive pilot platforms for reform and opening-up," said Wang.
Wang said China will promote the orderly planning of cross-border industrial and supply chains.
Efforts will be made to deepen economic and trade cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, enhance integration and connectivity across production and supply chains, and encourage cooperation in areas including green development, the digital economy, green minerals, new infrastructure and new energy so as to help build global production and supply chain partnerships that are equal, inclusive and constructive, he noted.
"We will give play to the platform role of overseas economic and trade cooperation zones, expand overseas marketing networks and explore international markets through outward investment, achieve mutual promotion between investment and trade, and advance the integrated development of trade and investment. We will also improve the overseas comprehensive service system and the national-level overseas comprehensive service platform," said the minister.
In addition, China will participate constructively in global economic governance, according to the minister.
In 2026, Wang said, China will pursue flexible and pragmatic approaches to negotiate trade and investment agreements with more willing countries and regions, while strengthening economic and trade cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as BRICS, G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, to further promote mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
China to expand high-standard opening-up to foster win-win cooperation: minister
