Beijing to tighten supervision of coal mine safety enforcement

The central government authority supervising safety monitoring at Chinese mines has introduced new measures to standardize inspection processes and to curb what is often seen by mining firms as arbitrary enforcement in the coal and other mining sectors, a move aimed at reducing the impact of safety checks on mining operations.

In a directive issued last week, the National Mine Safety Administration (NMSA) instructs mine safety authorities at all levels of government – local, city, and provincial – to strictly adhere to enforcement procedures and to avoid "excessive" and arbitrary inspections. The measures seek to address problems where frequent but superficial