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Authoritative Interpretation of the Guiding Opinions of the Ministry of Natural Resources on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Geological Exploration Industry

May 24,2021

The Ministry of Natural Resources recently issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Development of the Geological Survey Industry" (Natural Resources Circular [2021] No. 71).

The Ministry of Natural Resources recently issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Geological Exploration Industry" (Natural Resources Development [2021] No. 71). As China enters a new development stage and the reform of public institutions enters a critical period, the Ministry of Natural Resources, as the administrative department of the geological exploration industry, has issued such a policy-oriented, normative, and guiding document specifically on the high-quality development of the geological exploration industry, which undoubtedly has extremely important significance. So, What is the background for issuing this document? What is its significance? How should the content of the document be understood? What are the highlights of the document? With these questions in mind, this newspaper recently invited the person in charge of the Geological Exploration Management Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources to provide an interpretation—

Could you briefly introduce the background of this document?

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has incorporated ecological civilization construction into the "five-in-one" overall layout of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. The report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly points out that we must establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and adhere to the basic national policy of conserving resources and protecting the environment. The geological exploration industry must play an important role in serving the construction of ecological civilization.

Currently, China has basically achieved the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, achieving the first centenary goal, and is now striving to embark on a new journey of comprehensively building a socialist modern country and marching towards the second centenary goal. Entering a new stage of development, implementing the new development concept, and constructing a new development pattern require higher-quality geological exploration services to support it.

In the new era, the reform of geological exploration units requires new policy guidance. In March 2011, the Party Central Committee and the State Council issued the "Guiding Opinions on Classified Advancement of Reform of Public Institutions" and related supporting documents, which made deployments for promoting the classified reform of public institutions. Generally speaking, the classified reform has been basically completed in various places. In February 2020, the Party Central Committee and the State Council issued documents on deepening the pilot work of reform of public institutions, requiring in-depth promotion of the separation of government and enterprises, a shift from "running undertakings" to "managing industries," strengthening supervision and management, improving institutional regulations, etc.

As part of the national reform of public institutions, the reform of geological exploration units must be proactively planned and actively promoted. Therefore, in order to effectively fulfill the responsibilities of the geological exploration industry management entrusted to the Ministry of Natural Resources by the Party Central Committee, thoroughly implement the relevant spirit of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on deepening the reform of public institutions, comprehensively promote the deepening reform of geological exploration units nationwide, respond to the policy expectations of the geological exploration industry, seize the current opportunity to issue guiding opinions, and guide various provincial-level natural resources authorities to actively perform their duties in the reform of geological exploration units, promoting the high-quality development of the geological exploration industry, is of great significance.

Please introduce the brief process and main policy expectations of issuing the "Guiding Opinions on the High-Quality Development of the Geological Exploration Industry"?

As early as after the institutional reform in 2018, the Ministry of Natural Resources has organized many investigations to understand the current situation of the reform and development of geological exploration units. In 2019-2020, the Ministry of Natural Resources investigation team went to more than ten provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) including Sichuan, Shandong, Xinjiang, and Zhejiang to investigate the natural resources authorities and geological exploration units, and sorted out the problems of the system and mechanism; at the same time, it held symposiums with central-managed geological exploration units such as non-ferrous metals, metallurgy, and nuclear industry, and symposiums with geological exploration bureaus in twelve western provinces, exchanging experiences in the reform and development of geological exploration units, and discussing reform paths. Based on widely listening to opinions from all parties, the basic framework and main content of the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Geological Exploration Industry" were formed.

In February of this year, the "Guiding Opinions" solicited opinions from the Ministry's bureaus and divisions, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, and the China Geological Survey, and made revisions and improvements. In March, the Ministry of Natural Resources held a special meeting to study the revisions. In April, after the China Geological Survey organized further research and improvement, the draft for submission was formed.

The issuance of this guiding opinion aims to implement the latest spirit of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on the reform of public institutions, adhere to goal-oriented and problem-oriented approaches, and in accordance with the overall requirements of coordinating geological exploration development with ecological civilization construction, put forward requirements for deepening the reform of the geological exploration industry, guiding geological exploration units to focus on their main business, focus on key tasks, improve capabilities, and strengthen service supervision, and point out the direction. Further promote provincial-level natural resources authorities to support the reform of geological exploration units, strengthen service supervision, and promote better development of the geological exploration industry.

This guiding opinion is linked with the "Supervision and Management Measures for Geological Exploration Activities" to be issued next, improving the management of the geological exploration industry from both internal and external aspects, supporting the reform of the geological exploration industry, and promoting the high-quality development of the geological exploration industry.

Currently, society has limited understanding of the geological exploration industry. Can you briefly introduce the historical evolution of the geological exploration industry system in China?

The geological exploration industry is related to the energy and resource foundation of social development, and has accompanied the entire process of the growth of New China. In the early days of New China, in order to solve the problem of energy and resource shortages faced by China's economic and social development, the Ministry of Geology was established in 1952 to lead and manage mineral resource surveys and exploration, and to deploy and organize the implementation of basic geological surveys and mineral exploration tasks in national construction; in 1982, it was renamed the Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources, strengthening basic geological surveys and geological exploration in important metallogenic belts and oil and gas exploration, and strengthening the management of mineral resources. Before the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, geological work was mainly focused on geological prospecting, and a planned economy was implemented, with geological exploration funds provided free of charge by the state treasury, and geological results provided free of charge to the state.

After China implemented the socialist market economic system, the national investment system underwent major changes. In order to make up for the insufficient geological exploration funds, the geological exploration industry implemented professional reorganization of teams and diversified operations, and proposed and explored the reform goal of "enterprise-ization of geological exploration units, commercialization of geological results, and socialization of geological work".

The Party Central Committee and the State Council have always been very concerned about the reform and development of the geological exploration industry. In 1998, the Ministry of Land and Resources was established, and the following year, the "Reform Plan for the Management System of Geological Exploration Teams" was issued, exploring the separation of public welfare and commercial geological work, and promoting the localization and enterprise-ization of geological exploration teams; subsequently, the main geological exploration teams managed by the original seven ministries and commissions such as non-ferrous metals, metallurgy, and nuclear industry were transformed into centrally managed enterprises.

In 2006, the State Council issued the "Decision on Strengthening Geological Work" (State Development [2006] No. 4), requiring "doing a good job in the management of the geological exploration industry." To implement the relevant requirements, the former Ministry of Land and Resources issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of the Geological Exploration Industry" (Land and Resources Development [2006] No. 288), clarifying the overall requirements and key tasks of industry management. In 2010, the "Several Opinions on Further Strengthening the Service and Management of the Geological Exploration Industry" (Land and Resources Development [2010] No. 60) and the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Reform and Development of State-owned Geological Exploration Units" (Land and Resources Development [2010] No. 61) were issued, laying a good foundation for the smooth progress of the classified reform of public institutions.

In March 2011, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Guiding Opinions on Classified Advancement of Reform of Public Institutions." On July 24, 2011, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Notice on Issuing Supporting Documents for Classified Advancement of Reform of Public Institutions" and 9 supporting documents, clarifying the categories, division principles, and timetable for public institutions, and the reform of geological exploration units was included in the overall promotion of the national classified reform of public institutions.

It can be said that in the process of reform exploration, some regions have accumulated some experience in aspects such as the connection of new systems, financial security, and team stability, but there are also some problems, including an inaccurate grasp of the market function positioning of geological exploration units and insufficient support for public welfare in natural resource management.

How to view the reform goals and current progress of China's geological exploration industry?

The "Reform Scheme for the Management System of Geological Exploration Teams" issued by the General Office of the State Council in April 1999 clearly pointed out the need to address the issues of blurred lines between government administration and business operations, unclear responsibilities and inflexible mechanisms, bloated teams, dispersed resources, redundant work, and low efficiency within geological exploration teams. The goal was to establish a management system that is adapted to the socialist market economy, separating government administration from business operations, and ensuring a unified, coordinated, orderly, and efficient system.

On January 20, 2006, the State Council's "Decision on Strengthening Geological Work" proposed the need to advance the transformation of the geological exploration management system and operational mechanisms. This included establishing a geological work management system where the central and local governments are responsible and coordinate with each other, accelerating the construction of a geological work system adapted to the socialist market economy, and establishing a geological exploration system with reasonable division of labor and mutual promotion between government and enterprises. This is summarized as "one system, two systems," which is essentially a detailed description of establishing a "management system that separates government administration from business operations, ensuring it is unified, coordinated, orderly, and efficient."

From the perspective of separating government administration from business operations in the geological exploration industry According to the initial top-level design: the central government retains a core force responsible for basic, public welfare, and strategic geological exploration tasks, namely the establishment of the China Geological Survey, to organize and implement national basic, public welfare, and strategic geological and mineral exploration work. At the provincial level, a basic and public welfare geological team is established, namely the provincial geological survey institution; information centers, geological museums, and provincial geological environment monitoring institutions are separated as public institutions. Each province retains a highly skilled and efficient geological exploration team, such as a geological bureau or institute, to meet the needs of national and regional economic development for geological exploration work. The remaining geological exploration units are gradually reorganized into market-oriented geological and mining groups or companies. Geological exploration units belonging to various industrial sectors, such as metallurgy, non-ferrous metals, light industry, chemical industry, and building materials, are reorganized into enterprises or integrated into enterprise groups. It can be said that on August 28, 2020, with the establishment of the Natural Resources Comprehensive Survey Command Center of the China Geological Survey, formed from the transformation of the former armed police gold forces, the goal of separating government administration from business operations in the geological exploration industry has been basically achieved.

From the perspective of separating business operations from enterprises in the geological exploration industry To date, among the locally managed geological exploration units, the classification work of most provincial (autonomous region, municipal) geological exploration units has been basically completed. Centrally managed geological exploration units, including the China Metallurgical Geological Bureau, the China Coal Geological Bureau, and the China National Chemical Geological and Mining Bureau, under the unified management and promotion of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, are following the goals and ideas of establishing a modern enterprise system. Some have completed enterprise-based reforms, while others are accelerating their transformation into enterprises.

Locally managed geological exploration units generally exhibit three types or models: First, the geological exploration team is positioned as a public welfare entity, with geological exploration units designated as public welfare institutions, their specific functions clearly defined, and a small number of units transformed into enterprises; second, based on the public welfare and commercial attributes of geological exploration work, a separation of business operations and enterprises is implemented, with public welfare-oriented institutions under public management or quasi-public management, and business-oriented institutions reorganized into one or several geological and mining companies or groups; third, a complete transformation into an enterprise, establishing a group or several companies.

In terms of the process of establishing and building "one system, two systems," the national-level public welfare geological work management system, geological work system, and geological exploration system have been basically established. Relatively speaking, local governments have conducted many beneficial explorations in improving the geological work management system and establishing the geological exploration system, achieving significant progress. However, in terms of building local geological work systems, reforms are relatively lagging, and there is still some distance to meet central requirements. This is the current shortcoming of geological exploration unit reforms and the focus of future work, requiring continued in-depth advancement in accordance with the spirit of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council.

The reporter noted that the name of the guiding opinions issued this time did not use the previously speculated "Guiding Opinions on the Reform of the Geological Exploration Industry," but instead focused on guiding the "high-quality development of the geological exploration industry." How should this be understood?

Since the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, "high-quality development" has become a frequently used term, expanding to various fields of economic and social development. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China further clarified that "development in the new era and new stage must implement the new development concept and must be high-quality development." The economic and social development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period will focus on promoting high-quality development. This is a scientific judgment made based on changes in China's development stage, environment, and conditions.

"High-quality development" is proposed in response to objective realities and must be combined with the specific circumstances of regions and industries to determine their own goals for high-quality development. In other words, only by consciously using "high-quality development" as a guide, planning the coordinated development of the industry with a high starting point, and combining the specific circumstances of the industry, province (city, region), and region, adapting measures to local conditions, can we find a path to "high-quality development" that suits our own situation.

Since the implementation of reforms and localized management of geological exploration teams in 1999, and especially since the issuance of the 2006 "Decision," the national geological exploration industry has achieved many accomplishments and good development over the years, further consolidating its foundation and significantly strengthening its capabilities. However, it must be acknowledged that the quality of the development of the geological exploration industry is not yet high, and there is still a large gap compared to the requirements for high-quality geological exploration work in the new development stage and the achievement of the 14th Five-Year Plan development goals; compared to other industries, there is still a large gap; and compared to the broader expectations of industry cadres and employees for a better quality of life and happiness index, there is still a considerable gap. Within the geological exploration industry, development is also unbalanced and insufficient. Therefore, for the geological exploration industry, reform is for development, and sustained and stable development, especially high-quality development, is always the hard truth. Seizing the opportunity to build a new development pattern with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international dual circulation mutually promoting, seizing the opportunity of ecological civilization construction, implementing the concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," promoting the high-quality development of the geological exploration industry, and making the geological exploration industry bigger, stronger, and better, is the historical mission of the geological exploration industry in the current and future period.

The "Guiding Opinions" mainly provide direction, principles, and guidance for the high-quality development of the geological exploration industry from four aspects: deepening reforms and promoting development; seizing opportunities and accelerating development; improving capabilities and achieving high-quality development; and strengthening supervision and services. How should the relationship between these four aspects be understood?

These are four specific guiding opinions proposed for the high-quality development of the geological exploration industry based on the current situation and realities of the industry. The four aspects are actually complementary and mutually reinforcing.

Deepening reforms is the internal engine and driving force for promoting the development of the geological exploration industry. From practical experience, this reform must be adapted to local conditions, there is no fixed and unified model nationwide, and the direction of separating business operations from enterprises must be adhered to. It is necessary to actively explore incentive policies both within and outside departments to ensure that the reform is smooth and orderly, that the core team is not disrupted after the reform, and that work capabilities are not reduced.

Seizing opportunities is a timely call for the geological exploration industry to accurately position itself and conduct self-examination in the new situation. The new era requires the geological exploration industry to break free from the constraints of traditional, single-mode thinking. Geological exploration units should play an important role in serving ecological civilization construction, ensuring energy and resource security, and strengthening geological disaster prevention and mitigation, according to their functional positioning.

Improving capabilities is an inherent requirement for summarizing and overcoming the shortcomings and bottlenecks in the development of the geological exploration industry in the past. Provincial-level competent authorities should guide geological exploration units to continuously strengthen basic research and talent cultivation, and improve their scientific and technological innovation capabilities, equipment R&D capabilities, and informatization and intelligence levels.

Strengthening supervision and services is the external policy guarantee for the high-quality development of the geological exploration industry. Provincial-level natural resources authorities should establish and improve the supervision and management mechanism for geological exploration, standardize geological exploration activities, pay attention to promoting typical experiences, and guide and support geological exploration units to make greater contributions to local economic and social development.

The "Guiding Opinions" has caused a strong response in the natural resources sector and the geological exploration industry as soon as it was released. What practical and specific requirements do you think this guiding opinion puts forward for the high-quality development of China's geological exploration industry?

These specific requirements are mainly reflected in three aspects: "reform guidance, business leadership, and standardized development".

Reform Guidance: First, it is necessary to actively and steadily promote the separation of government and enterprise reforms, adhering to the principle of "establishing before breaking," clarifying the functional positioning of the two types of institutions that provide public services to society and provide support for natural resource management. Second, it requires the natural resources system to support reforms, explore incentive policies in terms of providing suggestions for mining right blocks and participating in the distribution of exploration results, support geological exploration units in legally activating land, and actively seek policy support from other departments in terms of personnel placement, social security, state-owned assets, and finance and taxation.

Business Leadership: First, guide geological exploration units to seize new development opportunities, continuously expand service areas, and play an important role in serving ecological civilization construction, ensuring energy resource security, and strengthening geological disaster prevention and mitigation. Second, guide geological exploration units to continuously strengthen basic research and talent cultivation, improve their scientific and technological innovation capabilities, equipment R&D capabilities, and informatization and intelligence levels, and achieve high-quality development.

Standardized Development: It is required to implement the requirements of the State Council's "Delegation, Regulation, and Service" reform, strengthen the construction of the supervision and management system for geological exploration activities during and after the event, and maintain industry order. Guide and urge geological exploration units to do a good job in safe production management. Give play to the role of industry associations as bridges and ties, strengthen industry self-discipline, business construction, and information exchange.

Through the efforts in the above three aspects, the ministry and provinces will work together and assume their respective responsibilities to jointly create a more vibrant policy environment, further promote the deepening of reforms in geological exploration units, and thus promote the high-quality development of the geological exploration industry.

(Zhao Laping: Senior reporter, vice president and editor-in-chief of China Mining News)

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