China Deploys Reform of the Natural Resource Asset Management System

On July 14, China's Ministry of Natural Resources said that, in relation to improving the system for managing natural resource assets, the authorities have clearly defined five key reform tasks, covering taking stock of resource holdings, improving the property rights system, promoting preservation and appreciation in value, improving allocation efficiency, and strengthening supervision and assessment. According to the introduction, the recently released “Opinions” focus on the entire chain of natural resource asset management, aiming to address key issues such as “what resources are there, how much are they worth, who manages them, how are they protected and managed, how are they allocated, how are returns realized, how are they supervised, and how are they assessed.” As for specific measures, the reform will advance a unified system for investigation, monitoring, inventory statistics, and accounting, and build a “single map” for natural resource management and territorial spatial planning; it will also promote the improvement of systems such as the use rights for stateowned agricultural land, and enhance the standardization and convenience of registration. The authorities also stressed that, while upholding bottom lines such as farmland, the ecological protection redline, and the urban development boundary, efforts will be made to strengthen ecological protection and restoration and systematic governance, and to improve resource utilization efficiency as well as the level of supervision and assessment.