The party committee of the Communist Party of China ("CPC") established under the Ministry of Natural Resources ("MNR") has recently issued the Implementing Opinions on Deepening the Scientific and Technological Institution Reform to Boost Efficiency of Scientific and Technological Innovation (the "Opinions").
The 18 pieces of guidelines provided by the Opinions cover five aspects, including "reshaping the situation of scientific and technological innovation", "vigorously advancing the scientific research management reform", "gathering together various resources to create a national-level platform", "reforming the talent incentive mechanism" and "forming a sound environment for innovation". Among others, the Opinions clearly state that efforts will be made to promote the transformation and application of achievements in scientific and technological innovation, and nurture a number of major achievements in scientific and technological innovation in the cutting edge of "deep earth" and "deep ocean" science, monitoring and oversight of natural resources, ecological protection and restoration, and the framework of technologies for spatial planning and utilization. Meanwhile, actions will be taken to transform and employ a group of advanced feasible technologies, accelerate the application and popularization of certain advanced feasible technologies and equipment, including the satellite remote sensing of natural resources, Beidou Navigation Positioning, exploration and exploitation of natural gas hydrate in sea areas, exploration and exploitation of mineral resources deep in the earth, and the big data platform for smart regulation of natural resources, and provide supporting services for surveys, monitoring, assessment and planning of natural resources.