The Ministry of Water Resources is concerned with China's hydropower production. The China National Nuclear Corporation is a conglomerate of more than 200 enterprises and institutions concerned with China's nuclear power production and waste disposal facilities. In the early 1980s, the central government began to encourage the development of small coal mines in rural areas. Some of these mines are individually owned. Amendments to China's Mineral Resources Law, effective January 1997, provide a comprehensive legal framework for exploration and exploitation and could encourage foreign investment.
Coal accounts for a larger percentage of freight than any other commodity in China.
More than 50 percent of the coal is shipped by rail. China tripled its coal exports between 1980 and 1990, as newly built coal washing, rail, and port facilities made more of its high quality coal available for export. Japan, China's biggest customer, has provided loans for the improvement of railroads and ports for the overseas transport of Shanxi coal. Both North and South Korea are important destinations for Chinese coal. The central government maintains active control over China's most productive fields, including the Daqing field in the Songliao Basin of northeastern China and the Shengli and Liaohe fields in the Bohai Basin of northeastern China.