“It is imperative to uphold the coordinated approach to both development and security—being adept at leveraging development achievements to strengthen the substantive foundation of national security, while also being skilled at shaping a security environment that fosters economic and social development.” On April 17, during the first meeting of the 19th Central National Security Commission, General Secretary Xi Jinping made this emphasis when discussing the comprehensive implementation of the Overall National Security Concept. This requirement holds significant guiding importance for strengthening the mineral resource supply security system in the new era.

　　From the perspective of China’s resource security situation, the international mineral resource market is characterized by monopolies and hegemony. The uneven regional distribution of mineral resources and the high degree of industrial concentration make the mineral supply system highly vulnerable to disruptions. These disruptive factors—including geopolitical dynamics, regional conflicts, environmental constraints, human rights protections, corporate crises, or natural disasters—can lead to localized shortages of mineral resources and may further drive up the prices of mineral products.

　　The security of mineral resource supply cannot be fundamentally guaranteed simply by relying on a handful of large multinational mining companies. Just as building a few aircraft carriers without other specialized vessels and aircraft to form an integrated fleet from sea, land, and air would result in insufficient combat capability, the security of a nation’s mineral resource supply also requires a systemic approach. A mineral resource supply security system is a networked structure composed of mineral resource logistics, capital flows, and information flows. It involves multiple industries—including mining, finance, deep-sea shipping, commerce, information technology, law, technical services, and downstream processing manufacturing—each of which plays a role with varying degrees of influence on the security of mineral resource supply. Therefore, coordinated efforts across multiple industries and at every stage of the supply chain are essential.

　　Currently, the mineral resource supply system in China—encompassing mining, finance, deep-sea transportation, commerce, technical services, and downstream processing manufacturing—lacks a corresponding platform or policy framework for coordinated collaboration, making it difficult to fully leverage the functional roles of each industry within the mineral resource supply chain. In contrast, some countries have already elevated these issues to the level of national policy, enshrining them in relevant organizational laws and commercial statutes. For example, South Korea has enacted the “Regulations on Overseas Mineral Resource Exploration,” the “Law on Overseas Mineral Resource Development,” and the “Regulations on the Operation and Management of the Overseas Mineral Resource Development Fund.” Similarly, the United States has introduced the “National Policy, Survey, and Extraction Act on Materials and Mineral Resources,” among others.

　　Moreover, the construction of a horizontally coordinated platform for ensuring the security of China’s mineral resource supply is still in its early stages. In particular, no efficient and comprehensive service and guarantee system has yet been established in areas such as finance, banking, taxation, and law to support overseas exploration and development activities. At the same time, there is also a lack of a unified institutional body responsible for coordinating industry policies. Although the institutional reform of 1998 saw the Ministry of Natural Resources initially unify the management of mineral resources—thus shifting away from the previous sector-specific approach—and leading to a marked improvement in development order, this management model has remained confined solely to the resources themselves, without extending its scope to the industries involved in resource exploration and utilization. Looking abroad, countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan consistently enjoy an advantage in international mining competition precisely because of the well-structured relationships and operational mechanisms involving information, capital, technology, human resources, mining companies, and governments—all of which collectively form their core market competitiveness.

　　The major strategic plan formulated by the central government for building a national security system has provided a strategic framework for developing China’s mineral resource supply security system. The key to building China’s mineral resource supply security system lies in enhancing the nation’s overall competitiveness in mineral development. The state should strengthen its control over the operation of this supply system and foster core competitive advantages in national mineral development, based on resources enterprises, information, capital, technology, and human resources.

　　The author believes that the future mineral resource strategy of the Ministry of Natural Resources should focus on establishing a unified and coordinated management system for mineral resources. Specifically, we should improve the legal and institutional framework for ensuring the secure supply of mineral resources, strengthen institutional support for both domestic and international resource utilization, refine the mechanisms for innovation in mining technology and science, build an innovative system for the exploration and development of mineral resources, and enhance enterprises’ innovation capabilities. Furthermore, we need to clarify the relationship between government and market in the mining sector, optimize the mining market environment, and improve the modern financial system that supports mining development. Additionally, we should build and enhance a comprehensive public service system for mineral resources.