As Xi Calls on Troops to Prepare for War, Chinese City Orders Residents to Prepare Emergency Supplies

Helicopters launch rockets during the "Caucasus-2020" military exercises gathering China, Iran, Pakistan, and Burma troops, along with ex-Soviet Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus at the Kapustin Yar range in Astrakhan region, southern Russia, on Sept. 25, 2020. Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images

The southern Chinese city of Shenzhen ordered all residents to prepare emergency supplies in 72 categories, such as enough food and water for 72 hours and a fire blanket, on Oct. 13.

China’s Emergency Management Ministry and several municipal governments, such as Beijing and Tianjin, issued similar orders last month, but the news didn’t attract attention.