Wang Dongming, vice-chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, led a team to Southwest China's Yunnan province from April 18 to 20 to survey the legislation on mineral resources protection.

The existing mineral resources law came into effect in 1986 and underwent twice revisions in 1996 and 2009 respectively. During the first session of the 14th NPC, the Yunnan delegation submitted a proposal on the revision to the law in accordance with current economic and social conditions. The 14th NPC Standing Committee has listed the proposal into its annual legislative plan to push for relevant work.

During his stay in Yunnan, Wang visited resource exploration institutions, mineral resource companies and projects, new energy technology enterprises and scientific research institutions in the cities of Kunming and Qujing, held talks with local officials, lawmakers and experts on the enforcement of the mineral resources law, the exploration and protection of mineral resources, and solicited their opinions on the revisions to the law.

Wang hailed the achievements made by Yunnan in the exploration and protection of mineral resources and the implementation of the mineral resources law over the past few years.

He said that mineral resources are the vital foundation of economic and social development and bear great importance to national security and people’s wellbeing. The mineral resources law has provided the exploration and utilization of mineral resources with strong legal guarantee and played a crucial role in promoting the healthy growth of economy and ensuring the security of national strategic resources, he added.

He said the province to redouble its efforts on the exploration and protection of mineral resources, adhere to the problem-oriented approach, further enhance the efficiency of inspections, tackle pressing issues on the building of related legal system and the law’s enforcement.

Efforts should also be made to improve the legislation in a well-conceived and democratic way and in accordance with the law, carry out research and deliberation based on the country's actual conditions, take into account successful experience and reform results associated with mineral resource management, step up the revision to the mineral resources law, and promote the high-quality development of mineral resource exploration through the high-quality legislation.