China Energy and Natural Resources Disputes: A Guide for Foreign Investors and Contractors

The following is general information on Chinese energy and natural-resources regulation and disputes, not legal advice for any specific project. Entry restrictions, rights terms and forum rules apply on the facts of each case; consult qualified counsel before acting.

Entry first: the negative list and what it still reserves

For a foreign investor or contractor, the first question is entry. The Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for Foreign Investment Access (2024 edition) was issued as Order No. 23 of 2024 by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce and took effect on 1 November 2024. In mining it retains a hard prohibition on foreign investment in the exploration, mining and dressing of rare earths, radioactive minerals and tungsten. The earlier restriction confining oil and gas exploration and development to joint ventures is no longer retained in the 2024 list — but oil and gas remain shaped by a separate foreign-cooperation regime, so the two should not be conflated. The specific wording of the current list should always be confirmed against the official text.

The oil and gas regime: production sharing and designated operators

Onshore and offshore oil and gas cooperation with foreign parties is governed by the Regulations on Foreign Cooperation in the Exploration of Onshore and Offshore Petroleum Resources. The model is the production-sharing contract, and the Chinese side operates through the designated national oil companies — CNPC and Sinopec onshore, CNOOC offshore, and China United Coalbed Methane for coalbed methane. A foreign participant therefore contracts with a designated operator rather than acquiring the exploration licence directly, which changes the structure of the relationship and the shape of any dispute that arises from it.

Mining rights under the revised Mineral Resources Law

The Mineral Resources Law was revised on 8 November 2024 and took effect on 1 July 2025, running to 80 articles in eight chapters. It separates exploration rights and mining rights (Article 5), makes mining rights acquired for value (Article 16), and requires that they be granted competitively — by tender, auction or listing, subject to exceptions (Article 17). Rights take effect on registration (Article 22), and their terms are capped: an exploration right runs for five years, renewable up to three times, and a mining right for no more than thirty years (Article 24). These are the provisions a contractor or investor checks first, because they determine whether the rights the project depends on are validly held.

Disputes and where they land

Energy and resources disputes split by their nature. Commercial disputes — production-sharing, offtake and power-purchase agreements, long-term gas and oil supply contracts — are typically arbitrated or litigated under the parties' chosen clause. Disputes over mining rights themselves are different: they involve administrative prerequisites such as registration and approval, and may be subject to exclusive jurisdiction rules tied to real property. The regulators also matter for the substantive questions: the Ministry of Natural Resources administers mining rights, and the National Energy Administration oversees the energy sector. A foreign party should therefore map, early, whether a dispute is commercial or rights-related, and which authority and forum controls it.

A pre-dispute checklist

• Confirm entry status under the current negative list before structuring the deal.
• Identify the operator for oil and gas — you contract with the designated national company, not a direct licence.
• Verify the rights: confirm the exploration or mining right is registered and within its term under the 2024 Mineral Resources Law.
• Separate the dispute types: commercial claims go to the agreed forum; rights disputes carry administrative prerequisites and possibly exclusive jurisdiction.
• Know the regulator: the Ministry of Natural Resources or the National Energy Administration, depending on the issue.

The summary above is general information current as of the date of writing; the negative list, the Mineral Resources Law and the foreign-cooperation regulations should be confirmed against the current official texts. For the investment-screening layer that can apply alongside entry rules, see China's Foreign Investment Security Review, and for environmental disputes in the same sector see Environmental Litigation and Public-Interest Cases. Our Dispute Resolution practice handles these matters.