Preface to special issue on relationship between continental tectonics and the seismic activities of China, research techniques and methods

As an essential element in studying Earth Sciences,plate tectonics provides the scientific basis for understanding movement and tectonic interactions among different plates and related tectonic consequences,i.e.,natural hazards.The theory of plate tectonics was introduced to China in the early 1970s,about 10 years after this,scientific theory was firstly developed in the western world.