Exploration and Utilization of Mineral Resources

According to the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR)'s statistics, which are based on The Ministry's survey of nationwide state-owned and other types of mining enterprises, the total output of mineral ores throughout the country amounted to 4.849 billion tons in 2002, showing an increase of an additional 284 million tons from the previous year with a YoY growth rate of 6.22%.  In 2002, petroleum output reached 167 million tons, natural gas, 31.6 billion cubic metres, and coal, 1.38 billion tons.  Last year, the output of coal, steel and ten non-ferrous metals together with concrete ranked as first in the world; that of phosphorus ores and pyrite ranked second in the world, and crude oil output ranked fifth in the world.  China ranked third globally in terms of the scale of its total mineral resources exploitation.  The total output value achieved by all types of mining enterprises in China reached RMB454.2 billion in 2002.

The exploration and utilization status of China's mineral resources in the eastern, central and western regions is as follows:

l         The proportion of the number of mining enterprises in the three regions is 37.1 9%, 39.44% and 23.37% respectively;

l         The proportion of total output values of mineral resources exploration in the three regions is 33.88%, 44.23% and 21.89% respectively;

l         The proportion of mineral products sales revenues in the three regions is 32.94%, 44.67% and 22.39% respectively.

Mineral Products Consumption

China has entered a new phase in its bid to become what is termed a 'moderately wealthy society'.  Its economic development displays high growth, thus the demand for large amounts of mineral products and related energy resources / raw materials.  Over the past few years, more than 5 billion tons of mineral ores were consumed annually, making the country one of the biggest mineral ore consumers in the world. The country's crude oil consumption amounted to 116 million tons in 1990 and reached 225 million tons in 2002, an increase of 93.97%, giving a YoY growth rate of 7.23%, second to the US and Japan and ranked third globally.  Figures 1-2 and 1-3 show the production and consumption status of petroleum and coal in China between 1990 and 2002.

Import/Export Trade of Mineral Products

In 2002, the import/export trade value of China's mineral products (including related energy resources and raw material process products) exceeded US$111.1 bin (see Figure 1-5 for details), adding US$5 bin to last year's figure.   The total value of import/export trading of mineral products accounted for 18.4% of that of all products in China.  The export value of mineral products was 14.11% of the nation's total export of products figure, and the import value of mineral products accounted for 24.05% of the nation's total import of all products.

Figure 1-4: China's Mineral Products Import/Export Trade Value

Source: Land and Resources Gazette, MLR, 2003

The country's mineral product varieties for import/export have expanded from single and primary products to related energy resources and raw material industry products.  The structure of the mineral products import/export business is now changing from high imports/low exports to low imports/high exports; a trend believed to be a healthy one.

More and more countries and regions are engaging in mineral product trade with China.  In 2002, China's mineral product import/export trade grew to cover multiple areas. The import/export trade of the 20 mainly mineral products including coal, crude oil, ferrolite grits and refined minerals, normal steel materials, copper grits and refined minerals, primary copper, refined copper, copper   materials, aluminum oxide, aluminum-based alloys, zinc and zinc-based alloy, tin, wolfram grits, concrete, kilve and fertilizer involved nearly 60 countries. A stable mineral resource trading system covering multiple areas has been preliminarily established to assure the stability of export markets and import supply sources for mineral products. In order to adapt to the development of foreign trade and economic co-operation, requests from WTO members, and the domestic supply-demand situation and development strategies for mineral resources, China has gradually decreased its import tariff rate for mineral products in recent years.  By the end of 2002, the average import tariff rate for mineral products had been reduced to 9.03%