Abstract: Over the past decade, China has achieved remarkable progress in the prevention and control of coal bursts. The scientific philosophy of burst prevention has taken root, and a coherent body of policies, regulations and technical solutions has erected a solid safety barrier for coal-resource development. However, as coal mining depths continue to increase and extraction intensity keeps rising, the number of rock burst mines across the country has reached 177 (based on incomplete statistics), showing a year-on-year upward trend. At the same time, coal production capacity has been shifting westward to the core mining bases of "Shanxi-Shaanxi-Inner Mongolia-Xinjiang". The modern mining model characterized by "concentrated single-mine operations" presents new challenges for rock burst prevention, with no ready-made experience to draw from. Rock burst has become a critical factor restricting the scientific and rational release of production capacity in these regions. Currently, the engineering context of deep mining and ten-million-ton production capacity in coal mines has significantly reduced the margin for error and opportunities for trial-and-error in rock burst prevention. The traditional approach of "experience-based trials and adjustments after implementation" can no longer address the existing challenges. In particular, regional measures covering large-scale mining areas, such as surface fracturing and ultra-long boreholes underground, now demand unprecedented levels of differentiation and precision. Although the industry agrees that effective burst prevention must start at the source, turning this consensus into executable scientific theory, engineering technology and dedicated equipment remains an unresolved issue. Worth noting is that the rapid advance of digital and intelligent technologies in recent years has opened new windows of opportunity; a novel paradigm of digital source prevention is emerging. At this hinge moment, a systematic review of China’s coal-burst status and problems—and an in-depth analysis of the core contradictions—will not only furnish the cognitive foundation required for high-quality development of the coal sector, but also provide methodological support for building a precise, digital burst-prevention system.