Dentons Gives Lesson to City Government

In the morning of August 21, 2017, at the invitation of Zhoushan government, Dong Jie from Dentons Zhoushan office gave a lesson on government’s supervisory responsibilities over petrochemistry projects provided advice on how to build a cross-functional and multi-faceted supervision system for the city’s Green Fuel initiative to leaders of the local government at its 7th executive meeting.

By citing and analyzing the root cause of the accident that took place in Tianjin on August 12, Mr. Dong explained how the accountability mechanism worked in the wake of the accident and made the audience realize the importance of having a long-term supervision over petrochemistry projects in order to ensure production safety. The supervisory role of each government function at different stages of a petrochemistry project, from construction, production to operation, was clarified at the meeting and four points were made to the leaders present: Each government department, during its pursuit of economic growth, should be prepared for the unexpected and prioritize the crucial role of safety; Accountability mechanism must be improved to hold both the party and the government responsible; While petrochemistry projects could yield significant benefits to the economy and taxes, risks that come as a result of them should be fully understood and precautions should be taken; and the government and its affiliated bodies must comply with rule of law and avoid indolence as they exercise their supervision power.

Zhoushan’s Green Fuel, which is already under construction, is one of Zhejiang Province’s key initiatives under its Thirteenth Five-Year Plan. Mr. Dong’s lesson was highly regarded by the mayor who asks each government department to pay close attention to conducting acceptance check on the Green Fuel initiative and take actions to ensure the project would proceed in a safe and efficient manner under the oversight of the government.