Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, friends:

　　In the golden autumn of October, colleagues from the mining industry both at home and abroad gathered in Tianjin to participate in... 2015 The China International Mining Conference, with “ New Normal, New Opportunities, New Development ” Let us gather under this theme to jointly discuss the grand blueprint for mining development. On behalf of the Organizing Committee of the Conference and the Ministry of Natural Resources of the People’s Republic of China, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all our distinguished guests and old and new friends, and offer you our best wishes!

　　Currently, the global economic recovery remains generally weak, and future trends face numerous uncertainties. International demand for mining has slumped, investment has declined, market volatility has intensified, and downward pressures continue to mount. Faced with this complex environment, more than ever before, we need to remain firmly confident, join forces and move forward together, and rise to challenges head-on. We also need to recognize more fully the growth potential, development opportunities, and room for cooperation in the mining sector, and with even greater determination and courage, drive the recovery and healthy development of the mining industry.

　　It is important to recognize the supporting role of the economy’s fundamental conditions in underpinning the development of the mining industry. Globally, in order to promote economic recovery and stable growth, advanced economies are actively advancing reindustrialization and upgrading their manufacturing sectors. Emerging economies are accelerating their industrialization and urbanization processes, and across the globe, efforts to enhance infrastructure connectivity are gaining momentum, which will sustain steady demand for mineral resources.

　　From China’s perspective, economic development has entered a “new normal,” shifting toward medium-to-high-speed growth and moving toward the mid-to-high end of the global value chain. In the first three quarters of this year, China proactively addressed downward economic pressures by focusing on stabilizing growth, promoting reform, adjusting the economic structure, improving people’s livelihoods, and preventing risks, thereby maintaining— 7% With growth rates remaining roughly stable, the economy is shifting from a slowdown to stabilization and then toward further improvement. The fundamental basis for the economy’s steady development remains unchanged, and the outlook is extremely bright.

　　As the world’s second-largest economy, China’s contribution to global economic growth has reached 30% is a key engine driving global economic growth. Despite a sharp drop in commodity prices and a slowdown in the growth rate of total imports and exports, China’s physical volume of commodity imports has not declined. In the first half of the year, oil imports increased year-on-year by... 3.5% Iron ore imports remained roughly stable. Currently, China is coordinating and promoting new industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization, and actively implementing the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Economic Belt. “ The Belt and Road ” Along with major regional development strategies, the transformation of old and new growth drivers has spurred related demand for energy and mineral resources. Supported by long-term, positive economic fundamentals, the mining industry—both in China and globally—continues to hold strong growth potential.

　　We must recognize the opportunities that economic transformation presents for the development of the mining industry. Today, a new round of industrial revolution is taking shape worldwide, with high-tech industries and strategic emerging industries experiencing rapid growth. New drivers and growth poles of the economy are accelerating their formation, leading to continuously rising demand for minerals used in new energy sources and new materials, thereby opening up new horizons for the development of the mining sector.

　　International cooperation on capacity building is booming, and international collaboration in fields such as infrastructure, equipment manufacturing, and major engineering projects is becoming increasingly extensive, providing new opportunities for innovating mining cooperation models and building a global mining industry chain. Technological innovation is accelerating, with new technologies—such as big data, automation, the internet, and remote sensing monitoring—fusing with the mining sector to create new driving forces for mining development. Addressing climate change has become a global consensus, and the growing demand for resource-saving and environmentally friendly societies is steadily increasing the need for geological information technology, thus opening up new frontiers for geological work. The upcoming Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China will chart the course and make plans for China’s comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society and the realization of its first centenary goal. The shift in development models and economic structural adjustments—especially the surging tide of mass entrepreneurship and mass innovation—are injecting fresh momentum into and creating new opportunities for the mining industry.

　　We need to recognize the vast potential for open cooperation in the development of the mining industry. As economic globalization and regional integration continue to deepen, countries are actively promoting arrangements aimed at liberalizing and facilitating global and regional trade and investment. Open cooperation is now entering a broader scope, deeper levels, and higher standards. China is an active participant and promoter of economic globalization. China’s door of openness will only open wider and wider, and we will continue to build China into one of the world’s most attractive investment destinations. China’s outbound investments have maintained relatively rapid growth and have become a major global source of investment. China actively advocates for the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and... 21 The Silk Road Maritime Silk Road, the establishment of the Silk Road Fund, and the joint founding of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank—working together. “ The Belt and Road ” Countries and regions along the route are deepening investment, trade cooperation, and connectivity development. China has already established... 22 countries and regions sign 14 A free trade agreement has been established, and pilot free trade zones have been set up in Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin, and Fujian. Efforts are underway to accelerate the development of a new, comprehensive pattern of opening up to the world. The mining industry is one of the most globally integrated sectors and is increasingly forging a community with a shared future. Countries in the mining sector are highly interdependent and possess complementary strengths, leaving ample room for deepening cooperation.

　　The mining industry is a foundational sector of the national economy and plays a vital role in promoting growth, creating employment, and improving people’s livelihoods. The Chinese government attaches great importance to the sustainable development of the mining industry and is committed to deepening reform, expanding opening-up, and fostering endogenous driving forces for mining development, thereby laying a solid foundation for the recovery and prosperous development of the mining sector.

　　First, we are focusing on strengthening our capacity to ensure the sustainable availability of resources. We remain committed to leveraging domestic resources and continuously advancing our strategic initiative for breakthroughs in mineral exploration. We are intensifying geological surveys and mineral exploration efforts, particularly in areas related to energy resources and critical minerals, and have essentially completed a comprehensive assessment of these resources. 25 The resource base of major mineral types remains robust. Proven geological reserves of minerals such as coal, oil, natural gas, iron, copper, uranium, lead, and zinc continue to grow at a high level, establishing a number of key bases for the sustained supply of critical mineral resources. We adhere to the principle of prioritizing conservation and earnestly strengthen the efficient use and comprehensive utilization of mineral resources, and have successfully completed... 22 An important mineral species “ Three Rates ” The survey and evaluation work has promoted three batches totaling... 159 Integrating advanced and applicable technologies in a comprehensive manner—first batch 40 The construction of demonstration bases for the comprehensive utilization of mineral resources is steadily advancing, and significant achievements have been made in thoroughly assessing the current status of resource utilization, enhancing resource utilization efficiency, and boosting economic benefits. We remain committed to ecological and environmental protection, vigorously promoting green mining, and fostering a harmonious integration of resource development with environmental conservation and community development. We have fully implemented the deposit system for mine geological environment remediation and restoration, and have approved... 661 A national-level pilot unit for green mines has been promoted. 72 The construction of national mine parks has created a favorable situation for the development of green mining.

　　Second, we are making concerted efforts to advance reform and innovation in mining administration. We continue to deepen the reform of the administrative approval system, improve the business environment for enterprises, and promote greater convenience in mining investment. 2013 Since [year], by decision of the State Council, China’s Ministry of Natural Resources has successively abolished the approval or filing and endorsement of mining rights establishment plans, as well as the pre-approval review for Sino-foreign cooperative exploration and development of mineral resources. 24 We are streamlining administrative approval procedures for mineral resource management and striving to strike a balance between deregulation and effective oversight, while also optimizing service delivery. We are actively promoting reforms in the oil and gas resource development system, taking concrete measures to open up the market, ensuring fair market access, boosting market vitality, and fostering orderly competition. This year... 7 In the month, a pilot program for reform in oil and gas exploration and development in Xinjiang was launched, introducing the first batch of... 5 A block for oil and gas resource exploration has been publicly tendered to the society and has received a positive response from the market. We have vigorously promoted the public release of data and findings from geologic surveys conducted for public benefit, establishing a multi-tiered, distributed, and clustered information-sharing platform and service system. As a result, our capacity to provide geological data services to the public continues to strengthen. During this conference, the China Geological Survey, under the Ministry of Natural Resources, will make its first-ever public announcement. 1000 width 1 ∶ 5 Regional Geological Map, 11 The catalog of services for 10,000 pieces of data on the national mineral resource potential assessment results, along with nearly 100 maps of marine geological survey findings, has been publicly released once again. 35 Data from 10,000 geological drill holes.

　　Third, we will focus on deepening international cooperation in the mining sector. We will implement our basic national policy of opening up to the outside world and further advance international cooperation in the field of mineral resources. We welcome foreign-invested enterprises to come to China to invest in the exploration and development of mineral resources, and we encourage Chinese enterprises with strong capabilities to engage in overseas mining investments through cooperative ventures. We will work together with... “ The Belt and Road ” Countries and regions along the Belt and Road have collaborated on geoscientific research and geological surveys, producing and publishing collaborative research outcomes such as the “Asian Groundwater Sequence Map,” thereby supporting infrastructure connectivity and the development of economic corridors in the regions along the Belt and Road. We actively engage in bilateral and multilateral cooperation and exchanges; China’s Ministry of Natural Resources has established partnerships with all five continents. 100 The land and resource authorities of multiple countries and regions have established friendly cooperative relationships, and are engaging in pragmatic cooperation with multilateral institutions such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the World Bank, and the International Union of Geological Sciences, striving to play a proactive role as a responsible major country in promoting the development of the international mining industry.

　　In today’s world, where economic globalization, multipolarity, and societal informatization are deepening, building a global mining industry that is stable, sustainable, open, inclusive, and forward-looking is both our shared aspiration and shared responsibility. To this end, I would like to put forward four proposals:

　　First, we must uphold innovative development. Innovation is the fundamental driving force behind the sustained development of the mining industry and the only path to its recovery and growth. Especially in times of difficulty, we must rely more than ever on innovation and fully leverage its leading and supporting role. We should vigorously promote innovation in systems and mechanisms, ensuring that the market plays a decisive role in resource allocation while further enhancing the government’s role. We need to refine institutional frameworks governing mineral resource planning, reserve management, transfer of mining rights, conservation and efficient use, and mine environmental management, thereby elevating the standards of regulation and service delivery.

　　We should vigorously promote innovation in business management, encouraging mining enterprises to follow the principles of the market economy and the laws governing mining development, innovate management approaches, enhance operational efficiency, and continuously strengthen their own capabilities and market competitiveness. We should also vigorously advance scientific and technological innovation, focusing on strengthening research and development efforts in key areas and critical links of the mining industry, and promoting the R&D, dissemination, and application of new theories, technologies, methods, processes, and equipment for mineral exploration and development, thereby driving high-quality and sustainable development of the mining sector.

　　Second, we must uphold green development. Green development is a major global trend today and represents a shared responsibility for mining industries worldwide. We should strive to build an ecological civilization, firmly establishing the guiding principles of respecting, adapting to, and protecting nature. We must adhere to the approach of developing while protecting and protecting while developing, seamlessly integrating resource exploitation with environmental conservation. We should minimize the impact of mineral extraction on the ecological environment and promote green, low-carbon, and circular development in the mining sector. We must prioritize conservation, integrating resource conservation and efficient utilization throughout the entire process of mineral exploration and development. By comprehensively employing economic, legal, and technological measures, we should vigorously enhance the level of resource conservation and comprehensive utilization in the mining industry. We should also improve the institutional framework for green mining development, engage in exchanges on green mining policies, management practices, and standards, and thus pave the way for the sustainable development of the mining industry.

　　Third, we must uphold inclusive development. Achieving inclusive and universally beneficial development—so that the fruits of mining development benefit all stakeholders—is both a social responsibility of the mining industry and an important guarantee for the healthy development of society. We should adhere to the principles of people-centered and inclusive development, actively establishing mechanisms for equal dialogue, development compensation, and shared benefits, thereby ensuring a fair distribution of mining revenues among all relevant stakeholders. While pursuing economic gains, mining enterprises should place greater emphasis on and provide stronger support for local efforts in environmental protection, employment creation, infrastructure improvement, and the development of public welfare initiatives—thus striving to achieve integrated benefits that take into account economic, social, and ecological dimensions.

　　Fourth, we must uphold cooperative development. The mining industries of various countries are mutually interdependent and share common destinies; cooperative development is a vital key to overcoming difficulties and forging a new future. We should align ourselves with the global trend toward openness and cooperation, build a new type of relationship centered on win-win cooperation, and create a community with a shared future for the global mining industry. We should actively implement policies and measures that facilitate and liberalize mining trade and investment, thereby fostering a favorable business environment for mining investments. We should accelerate the establishment of coordination mechanisms for matching supply and demand of critical mineral products, continuously deepen cooperation in areas such as mineral exploration, development, processing, trade, investment, and pricing, and promote the extension of the global mining industry chain. We should actively engage in international capacity cooperation, strengthen alignment among countries in terms of funding, technology, and equipment, harmonize approaches on markets, regulations, and standards, enhance infrastructure connectivity, and achieve mutually beneficial development and win-win cooperation.

　　The China International Mining Conference has undergone 17 Over the years, it has become an important platform for dialogue, exchange, and practical cooperation within the international mining industry. Let us take this conference as a new starting point, join hands, overcome these challenging times together, and jointly create a bright future for the global mining sector.

　　Wishing this conference a complete success!

　　Thank you, everyone!