BEIJING -- The Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee convened a meeting on March 31 to hear a report on handling the crash of the China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 aircraft on March 21 and make arrangements for the follow-up work. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting and delivered a speech.

The CPC Central Committee has attached great importance to the crash after it took place, and Xi has delivered important instructions immediately. He stressed that the emergency response mechanism should be initiated straight away, no effort be spared in search and rescue, and the aftermath be properly handled. He said that the cause must be identified as early as possible, and support and service be provided to families of the victims. All relevant parties acted upon the instructions swiftly. They have coordinated efforts from sectors such as civil aviation, emergency response, public security, military and health, as well as the autonomous region of Guangxi. In line with the overall requirement that "command be unified, duties be divided, and work be thorough, meticulous, orderly and science-based," all-out efforts have been made. Currently, the handling of the aftermath and investigations into the accident are in progress.

All 132 people on board were dead. We feel deeply saddened. The Standing Committee stressed that in line with the principle of putting the people and their lives first, we must handle the accident aftermath in a thorough and meticulous manner, and persevere in our efforts to see it through. To preserve the dignity of the dead and console the bereaved families, we will continue to properly collect and transfer the remains and belongings of the victims. We will step up efforts to provide aid and relief to the victims' families so as to comfort them. All relevant parties should work together to conduct investigations in a scientific and orderly way, and organize experts of various fields to comprehensively analyze flight data and material evidence in order to find the cause and nature of this accident as soon as possible. Follow-up information must be released in a steady and orderly manner. In the spirit of timeliness, accuracy, openness and transparency, we must continue to keep the public updated and actively respond to public concerns.

The Standing Committee noted that we must attach same importance to development and security and never pursue development at the cost of security. All sectors must draw lessons from the accident, reflect on themselves, and further improve and enforce the accountability system for workplace safety. Nationwide workplace safety inspections will be launched to identify and address risks and potential dangers at every corner, so the chances for accidents of any types can be reduced to the minimum and social stability is ensured. In case any accident occurs due to dereliction of duty, poor implementation of policies and measures, or going through the motions of inspections, personnel and leaders concerned shall both be held accountable.

Other matters were also discussed at the meeting.