Guideline rolled out to better secure country's natural resources

China has rolled out a guideline on overhauling its natural resource asset management system, aiming to safeguard the long-term security and sustainability of the country's vast natural resource wealth while unlocking greater economic value.

The guideline, jointly issued on July 4 by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council, proposes strengthening natural resource asset inventories, refining the property rights system, driving asset value growth, optimizing market-based allocation and better protecting the rights of owners and users.

According to the guideline, by 2030, the management system should be optimized with clearer asset inventories, stronger protection and more efficient allocation. By 2035, a systematic and complete institutional framework is expected to be fully established, with governance significantly enhanced.

Zhang Wentong, vice-minister of natural resources, told a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday that the guideline covers the entire asset management chain, from inventory and valuation to protection, allocation and oversight.

"It is of great significance for advancing high-quality development, building a modern society of harmony between humanity and nature, and contributing to the Beautiful China Initiative," Zhang said.

A key priority is establishing a comprehensive inventory of the country's natural resources.

Wang Huabin, director-general of the Ministry of Natural Resources' survey department, said green mountains and clear waters are not only natural and ecological wealth but also social and economic assets.

"Authorities must first deliver a 'clear account' to the public — knowing what resources exist, where they are, their quality and their value," he said.

Wang said the ministry has conducted unified surveys in recent years. Forest coverage has reached 25.09 percent, with growing stock totaling 20.99 billion cubic meters, making China the world's largest contributor to global greening. The country has identified proven reserves of 164 mineral types and manages about 3 million square kilometers of jurisdictional sea area, while maintaining its continental natural coastline at above 35 percent.

To sustain these efforts, Wang said the government will build a unified digital platform integrating geographic information, survey data, property rights and spatial planning to enable real-time, intelligent monitoring.

Zhang Liming, deputy head of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, underscored the "foundational and strategic role" forests and grasslands play in safeguarding China's ecological security.

China has 241 million hectares of forests, 261 million hectares of grasslands and 56 million hectares of wetlands, Zhang said.

He added that the administration will continue large-scale afforestation projects, including the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, to improve forest coverage and quality while adopting a nature-first approach to ecosystem restoration in national parks. Targeted measures will also upgrade wildlife habitats, establish ecological corridors and strengthen biodiversity protection to safeguard long-term ecosystem integrity.

With resource inventories becoming clearer, the guideline proposes new categories of property rights, including land-use rights for state-owned agricultural land and separate rights for deep underground spaces such as caves and abandoned mines, that are repurposed for tourism or energy storage.

Wang Wei, director-general of the ministry's rights and interests department, said clarifying property rights is a prerequisite for improving asset allocation. Better-defined property rights will allow authorities to shift from allocating individual resources to packaging multiple resource categories together.

She cited Hengyang in Hunan province, where authorities bundled land-use rights with tourism and cruise operation rights to overcome fragmented resource management and increase both asset value and related industrial revenue. In Chongqing's Nan'an district, commercial land has been integrated with historical sites, with commercial returns helping finance the long-term protection of cultural heritage.

Wang also highlighted 64 case studies compiled by the ministry that demonstrate how ecological products can generate economic value, including Shenzhen's first-in-China auction of carbon credits generated through mangrove conservation.

The auction, she said, "truly embodies that protecting ecology is developing productive forces".

To strengthen accountability, the guideline calls for a unified revenue management system covering all state-owned natural resource assets, with all related income incorporated into government budgets. It also establishes a performance evaluation framework for officials responsible for natural resource asset management.

"We will work with all regions and relevant departments to ensure every reform measure truly delivers results," Zhang Wentong said.

limenghan@chinadaily.com.cn