Natural Resource Elements Protection Enhanced as Two Ministries Roll Out New Policies to Facilitate Key "15th Five-Year" Projects

To further improve the element support work for key construction projects in the 14th Five-Year Plan, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration jointly issued the “Notice on Further Improving Natural Resource Element Support” (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”). On March 16, the Ministry of Natural Resources held a routine press conference to interpret the content of the “Notice.”

The main content of the “Notice” covers five major areas: optimizing land and space layout, improving the efficiency of natural resource element allocation, ensuring the development and utilization of mineral resources, coordinating stock and incremental growth to promote connotative development, and the rational use of land and sea space resources, with a total of thirteen policy measures.

Liu Yan, Director of the Department of Land and Space Use Regulation at the Ministry of Natural Resources, introduced at the press conference that the “14th Five-Year Plan” outline proposes 109 major engineering projects. The “Notice” further optimizes land and space layout and improves policies for natural resource element support, which can promote the early implementation and commencement of key projects in the “14th Five-Year Plan,” turning the blueprint into reality.

Liu Yan emphasized that the Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration will strengthen policy publicity, interpretation, and training, guiding natural resources (marine) and forestry departments at all levels to make good use of element support policies, ensuring projects are implemented and started early. Meanwhile, relying on the “one map” of natural resource management and land and space planning, daily monitoring and supervision will be strengthened to ensure policies are implemented correctly and consistently.

In principle, newly added construction land should not be used for commercial real estate development

The “Notice” proposes coordinating stock and incremental construction land to promote connotative development. It implements total control over construction land scale during the planning period, with provincial governments coordinating the use of the “14th Five-Year” new construction land indicators. Additionally, a sound mechanism linking increase and stock is established, with annual new urban and rural construction land generally not exceeding the area of revitalized stock land, and efforts to activate stock land are intensified. Newly added construction land should prioritize major infrastructure projects, new business formats, new driving forces, and projects related to people’s livelihood, and should not be used for commercial real estate development in principle, supporting urban renewal, shantytown renovation, and real estate inventory reduction.

Kong Weidong, Director of the Department of Natural Resources Development and Utilization at the Ministry of Natural Resources, explained that the policy measures are mainly based on three considerations.

First, controlling increments with stock. Urban construction land includes both newly formed land through expropriation and land conversion, as well as stock land revitalized through old city renovation, redevelopment of inefficient land, and recovery or acquisition of idle land. Coordinating supply of stock and incremental land, except for projects like energy, transportation, and water conservancy that require separate site selection, the annual new construction land should not exceed the area of revitalized stock land—“one acre of revitalized land can add one acre.” Through good coordination of stock and incremental land, this prevents disorderly urban expansion and sprawling development, and promotes a shift from relying on new land to activating existing space.

Second, optimizing resource allocation. Land factors should be allocated based on market benefits, national development, and people’s welfare, prioritizing limited new land for major infrastructure and livelihood projects. The supply of land for key projects such as energy, transportation, and water conservancy should be increased to meet the needs of modern industries, and support for urban renewal, shantytown renovation, and public service facilities should be strengthened.

Meanwhile, given the significant changes in the real estate market supply and demand, the “Notice” clarifies that, in principle, newly added construction land should not be used for commercial real estate development. This does not mean no land will be supplied for real estate; rather, it emphasizes making good use of stock resources, “precision supply, prioritized supply,” and city-specific policies to control the pace and timing of land supply, focusing on areas with advantageous locations and complete supporting facilities.

Third, better matching market demand. By 2025, the Ministry of Natural Resources will actively cooperate with the Ministry of Finance to guide local governments to issue over 540 billion yuan in special bonds mainly for acquiring and stockpiling idle land, to better develop “clean land” and “premium land.” Additionally, efforts will be made to mobilize multiple entities, support compatible land use and space integration, and optimize planning adjustments and land use conversion rules.

Establishing a dynamic mechanism for land and space planning maintenance

In recent years, land and space planning at all levels has been fully approved and implemented, with the target year set for 2035, spanning a 15-year cycle. Meanwhile, the recent National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference approved key documents such as the “14th Five-Year Plan” outline and government work reports. Local departments are also refining implementation and planning related reforms, which pose new tasks and demands for optimizing spatial layout and strengthening element allocation.

Therefore, the “Notice” proposes establishing a dynamic maintenance mechanism for land and space planning. Under the premise of not exceeding the constraints of the “three zones and three lines” and bottom-line controls, regular evaluations and assessments can be combined with periodic check-ups, relying on the “one map” to conduct annual dynamic maintenance of overall land and space planning, positively optimizing zoning, boundaries, and key project lists. For adjustments involving the three control lines, management should follow the regulations for permanent basic farmland, ecological protection red lines, and urban development boundaries, strengthening daily management.

Xie Haixia, Director of the Department of Land and Space Planning at the Ministry of Natural Resources, explained that the deployment of the “Notice” considers three aspects.

First, implementing national development strategies to improve planning scientificity. The land and space plans approved at all levels in recent years are dynamically optimized based on the tasks of the five-year national development plans, which is a necessary response to economic and urban development laws, facilitating synchronization between spatial and development planning, and proactively adapting to economic and social changes.

Second, strengthening monitoring and evaluation of plan implementation to optimize land and space layout. Regular assessments will focus on the implementation of major functions, the guidance and control of the “three zones and three lines,” industrial development, and improvements in people’s welfare. Major tasks such as cultivating new growth drivers and establishing modern industrial systems will be emphasized, with local characteristics and comparative advantages further explored. Under the premise of ensuring the quantity, quality, and ecological improvement of cultivated land and permanent basic farmland, localities can conduct annual dynamic maintenance of land and space plans, balancing rigidity and flexibility to better align natural resource element allocation with reality.

Third, leveraging the fundamental role of planning, and exploring the establishment and improvement of land and space planning permit systems based on the “one map.” Since land and space are unique, a “one map” integrating natural resource management and land and space planning should be established to strengthen the guiding and constraining role of overall plans on related special plans, coordinating space needs across transportation, energy, water conservancy, cultural relics protection, and mineral development. During plan formulation, proactive services and scientific site selection should be carried out to eliminate spatial conflicts.

Yacht and deep-sea fishing industries benefit from policy support

The “Notice” proposes rational use of land and sea space, clarifying management related to the connection between land and sea on both sides of the coastline, revitalizing stock sea areas. It also emphasizes strengthening infrastructure such as public docks and berths for yachts, promoting the development of yacht and deep-sea fishing industries.

At the meeting, Xu Guodong, Director of the Marine and Island Management Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources, responded to a question from 21st Century Business Herald, stating that the “Notice” focuses on resolving historical issues, accelerating the revitalization of “already filled but not approved” stock resources, clarifying land-sea connection management rules, and supporting the development of emerging marine industries like yachts and deep-sea fishing.

Specifically, regarding unified land-sea connection management, the “Notice” considers optimizing element allocation procedures, improving efficiency, and reducing application burdens. It stipulates that areas already land-reclaimed but not approved should be managed as land, and during land use procedures, illegal and irregular sea use behaviors should be thoroughly investigated and rectified, ecological protection and restoration measures should be implemented, and industry access policies should be followed. From a resource protection perspective, the “Notice” also strictly controls reclamation activities along the coastline, prohibiting new reclamation except for major national projects.

To promote the development of yacht and deep-sea fishing industries, the “Notice” aims to address objective issues such as limited yacht docks and berths in coastal cities. It emphasizes ensuring reasonable land, sea, and island use and coastline utilization, supporting local governments in optimizing infrastructure layouts for yachts and deep-sea fishing based on land and space planning, and creating more development space for these activities. It also streamlines application procedures, and to make yacht docking as convenient as parking, the “Notice” supports coastal regions exploring systems for approving, transferring, registering, and trading yacht berths based on berths.