China continues to encourage foreign mining investment

In early April the People’s Republic of China established a new Ministry, that of Natural Resources (MNR). The creation of the new Ministry was part of a programme to restructure the country’s State Council (Cabinet). The MNR took over all the responsibilities of the previous (and now disestablished) Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR), the State Oceanic Administration and the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation. (The MLR had been responsible for the administration, protection, planning and utilisation of China’s land, mineral and some marine resources.) The MNR also took over relevant responsibilities from other, still active Ministries and agencies – for example, it took over the responsibility for grassland survey and ownership registration from the Ministry of Agriculture. The function of the MNR is to provide more efficient oversight of the development and protection of the country’s natural resources, including minerals.