At a news conference on Wednesday, the mayor and acting Party chief of Tianjin municipality, Huang Xingguo, admitted his "inescapable responsibility" for the deadly explosions that claimed the lives of more than 100 people and injured hundreds more.

His words have been welcomed by the public, and his accepting of responsibility has to some extent acted as a pressure valve relieving some of the negative sentiment that had been building up because of the accumulation of unanswered questions about the cause of the blasts at a warehouse storing chemicals.

Huang's attitude and earnest official response seem to have reassured people a credible investigation is being conducted.