Ministry of Commerce (China)

Ministry of Commerce
Ministry of Commerce
Simplified Chinese	中华人民共和国商务部
Traditional Chinese	中華人民共和國商務部
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Shāngwùbù

Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China
中华人民共和国商务部; Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Shāngwùbù
	Logo of the Ministry of Commerce
	; Headquarters
Agency overview
Formed	March 2003; 21 years ago
Preceding agency	Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation;
Type	Constituent Department of the State Council (cabinet-level)
Jurisdiction	Government of China
Headquarters	Beijing
Minister responsible	Wang Wentao;
Deputy Ministers responsible	Wang Shouwen; Ling Ji, International Trade Deputy Negotiator; Sheng Qiuping; Guo Tingting; Li Fei;
Agency executives	Tu Gengxin, Leader of Discipline Inspection & Supervision Team; Wang Wen, International Trade Negotiator;
Parent agency	State Council
Website	www.mofcom.gov.cn

The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) is a executive department of the State Council of the People's Republic of China that is responsible for formulating policy on foreign trade, export and import regulations, foreign direct investments, consumer protection, market competition (competition regulator) and negotiating bilateral and multilateral trade agreements. it is the 20th-ranking department of the State Council. The current minister is Wang Wentao.

History

Before October 1949, the Ministry of Economic Affairs was the governing agency of the Republic of China on the mainland responsible for economic trade issues. The agency was created in 1931 and reorganized in 1937.^{[citation needed]}

In November 1949, a month after the People's Republic of China was established, the Chinese Communist Party formed the Ministry of Trade (贸易部) while the MOEA continued to operate in Taiwan and several other islands.^{[citation needed]}

In August 1952, the Ministry was renamed to Ministry of Foreign Trade (对外贸易部). Ye Jizhuang was the first Minister and died in the post in 1967.^{[citation needed]}

In March 1982, the Ministry of Foreign Trade was merged with the Ministry of Foreign Economic Liaison (对外经济联络部), the State Import and Export Regulation Commission (国家进出口管理委员会), and the State Foreign Investment Regulation Commission (国家外国投资管理委员会), and became the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade (对外经济贸易部).^{[citation needed]}

In March 1993, the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade was renamed to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (对外贸易经济合作部).^[1]^{[non-primary source needed]}

In the spring of 2003, the former Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation went through a reorganization and was renamed Ministry of Commerce. During 2003, the Ministry established Forum Macao in the Macao Special Administrative Region as a multi-lateral mechanism for cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries.^[2]^: 62

In 2006, the Ministry of Commerce oversaw the program of "ten thousand businesses advance westward" in conjunction with the Hu-Wen administration's early emphasis on balancing regional development.^[3]^: 217

The ministry also incorporates the former State Economic and Trade Commission and the State Development Planning Commission.

Ministry of Trade
(1949)

Ministry of Foreign Trade

Ministry of Foreign Economic Liaison

State Import and Export Regulation Commission

State Foreign Investment Regulation Commission

Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation
(1993)

State Economic and Trade Commission

State Development Planning Commission
(1998)

Ministry of Commerce
(2003)

In 2018, the ministry lost its powers and responsibilities regarding anti-monopoly, intellectual property, counterfeit goods, foreign aid, and some financial products to other departments.^[4] Coordinating foreign aid became the responsibility of the newly-created China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA).^[5]^: 18 MOFCOM had tended to emphasize the use of aid to support foreign trade objectives, whereas CIDCA has increasingly emphasized the use of aid to support foreign policy objectives.^[5]^: 18

Functions

MOFCOM is in charge of the administration of foreign trade and is China's primary foreign trade negotiator.^[6]^: 210 MOFCOM also deals with foreign investment regulation.^[7]^: 106 It works with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to draft negative lists for foreign investments at the national level and for special economic zones.^[4] MOFCOM certifies Chines firms' international contracting business; Chinese contractors performing work abroad must obtain letters from the MOFCOM Economic and Commercial Office at the Chinese embassy in the host country.^[5]^: 81

MOFCOM additionally is responsible for developing strategic national plans in the areas of finance and taxation, drafts the central financing budget, supervises central financial expenditures, and audits the budget and accounts of state capital and the national social insurance fund.^[7]^: 40

MOFCOM is China's most important negotiator in the global governance of intellectual property.^[6]^{: 210–211}

MOFCOM additionally has responsibilities on economic relations with Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.^[4] To that end the Vice Minister An Min, and the previous Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, Antony Leung, concluded the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA). New agreements are continually negotiated between An and the current Financial Secretary John Tsang under the auspices of the CEPA. Similar agreements were also concluded between the MOFCOM and Secretariat for Economy and Finance of Macau.^{[citation needed]}

In the first decade after the institution of China's Anti-Monopoly Law (2008-2018), MOFCOM was responsible for regulation of mergers under the law.^[7]^{: 89, 110} Other antitrust investigations were handled by the State Administration of Industry and Commerce and the NDRC.^[7]^: 110 During that period, MOFCOM prohibited two mergers and imposed remedies in 36 transactions, all of which involved foreign multinational corporations.^[7]^: 110 The State Administration for Market Regulation was created and became China's primary antitrust regulator in 2018.^[7]^: 29

MOFCOM assists in drafting laws and regulations in its relevant policy areas.^[7]^: 40

List of ministers

Name	Took office	Left office
Minister of Trade
Ye Jizhuang	October 1949	August 1952
Minister of Foreign Trade
Ye Jizhuang^[8]	August 1952	June 1967
Lin Haiyun^[8]	June 1967	July 1970
Bai Xiangguo^[8]	July 1970	October 1973
Li Qiang^[8]	October 1973	September 1981
Zheng Tuobin	September 1981	March 1982
Minister of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade
Chen Muhua	March 1982	March 1985
Zheng Tuobin	March 1985	December 1990
Li Lanqing	December 1990	March 1993
Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation
Wu Yi	March 1993	March 1998
Shi Guangsheng	March 1998	March 2003
Minister of Commerce
Lü Fuyuan	March 2003	February 2004
Bo Xilai	February 2004	December 2007
Chen Deming	December 2007	March 2013
Gao Hucheng	March 2013	February 2017
Zhong Shan	February 2017	December 2020
Wang Wentao	December 2020	Incumbent

Structure

A ministerial-level MOFCOM vice minister serves as the International Trade Representative, representing China at bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.^[4]

The Ministry of Commerce is structured into the following departments:^[9]

Departments
Foreign Economic Cooperation
Fair Trade for Import and Export
Market Economic Order
Foreign Investment Administration
Market Operation
Aid to Foreign Countries
Treaty and Law
WTO Affairs
Trade in Services
Market System
Comprehensive
Specialized
Commercial Reform
Asian Affairs
Western Asian & African Affairs
American & Oceanian Affairs
International Trade and Economic Affairs
Taiwan, Hong Kong & Macao
General Economic Affairs
Foreign Trade
Electromechanical Products & Science and Technology Industry
Administrative / Corporate Services
General Office
Human Resources
Policy Research
Finance
Injury Investigation
Negotiation Office
Retired Officials
Committee of Communist Party
Discipline Supervision & Investigation Group
Bureau of Discipline Supervision
Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation
World Economy
Consumption and Distribution
International Trade
Foreign Investment
Industry Development and Strategy
Commodity Research
International Trade in Services
Overseas Investment and Economic Cooperation
Asian and African Studies
Development Cooperation
Credit and E-commerce
Strategic Trade and Security

References

^ "Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation". www.fmprc.gov.cn. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
^ Shinn, David H.; Eisenman, Joshua (2023). China's Relations with Africa: a New Era of Strategic Engagement. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-21001-0.
^ Ang, Yuen Yuen (2016). How China Escaped the Poverty Trap. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-1-5017-0020-0. JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctt1zgwm1j.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Decoding Chinese Politics". Asia Society. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Chen, Muyang (2024). The Latecomer's Rise: Policy Banks and the Globalization of China's Development Finance. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9781501775857.
^ ^a ^b Cheng, Wenting (2023). China in Global Governance of Intellectual Property: Implications for Global Distributive Justice. Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies series. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-031-24369-1.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Zhang, Angela Huyue (2024). High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780197682258.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gene T. Hsiao (1977). The Foreign Trade of China: Policy, Law, and Practice. University of California Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-520-03257-6.
^ [1] Archived April 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine