The Red Cross Society of China on Tuesday upgraded eight of its disaster preparedness centers to national level to give full play to their role of providing emergency relief.

Wang Ping, director of the society's Relief and Health Department, announced the decision, saying the centers have been certified by an evaluation group from the RCSC and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The assessment was based on five criteria - logistics, technology, information, management and service.