The government has always attached great importance to production safety, which is vital to the people's ultimate interests and the overall situation of stability, reform and development, Huang said, urging local governments at all levels to take effective measures to ensure production safety in accordance with the regulations and laws of safe production.

The State Council plans to carry out a nationwide inspection of production safety and local departments shall search and remove any hidden trouble and carry out effective reforms to cement and promote safe production, Huang said.

The inspection will especially focus on coal mining safety, traffic safety, safety in public places, the performance of safe production responsibility and the transaction of hidden problems.

(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2003)