"Safety checks demanded after deadly cargo ship fire", China Daily, 11 Sep 2026

President Xi Jinping has called for stepped-up efforts to identify and address fire hazards and prevent major accidents after a blaze aboard a foreign-flagged cargo ship killed 25 people in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Thursday.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the instruction after the vessel caught fire at around 11:15 am while it was docked for repairs at a shipyard of the Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Co, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Of the 42 people on board the ship when the fire broke out, 12 were safely evacuated and five were injured and taken to the hospital, where they were in stable condition.