The body was first established in November 1952 as the State Planning Commission of the Central People's Government. In 1954, it was transformed to the State Planning Commission of the People's Republic of China. The NDRC's functions are to study and formulate policies for economic and social development, maintain the balance of economic development, and to guide restructuring of the economic system of mainland China.[2]
In March 1998, the commission was renamed into the State Development Planning Commission. It was renamed again in March 2003 to its current name, the National Development and Reform Commission.[citation needed]
In 2008, the NDRC issued a set of policies designed to further development the economies of central regions of China, consistent with the Hu-Wen administration's efforts to balance regional development.[3]: 217
Prior to 2018, it was also responsible for enforcing China's antitrust law, but this function has been transferred to the State Administration for Market Regulation. In February 2015, the NDRC completed an investigation into Qualcomm, finding that violated the Anti-Monopoly Law by imposing unreasonable requirements for patent licensing.[5] Qualcomm was fined the equivalent of US$975 million.[5]
On 19 December 2020, the NDRC published rules for reviewing foreign investment on national security grounds.[7][8] The rules allow government agencies "to preview, deny and punish foreign investment activities in areas that are deemed as important to national security."[8] In October 2021, the NDRC published rules restricting private capital in "news-gathering, editing, broadcasting, and distribution."[9]
On 4 September 2023, the NDRC announced it established the Private Economy Development Bureau in order monitor the country's private economy, as well as establish regular communication with private businesses.[10]
Functions
The NDRC is China's main macroeconomic control institution,[11]: 102 as well as the top organization in the State Council in matters related to economic policymaking. It oversees the planning system in China, including producing the five-year plans of China.[12] The NDRC has responsibilities over economic targets, price policies, market policies, supply-side structural reform, overseas investment, domestic investment policy, regional development strategies, industrial development strategies, major infrastructure projects, consumption policy, innovation-driven development, scientific and technological infrastructure, high-tech industries, social development, basic public services and social development.[12] NDRC's responsibility for large infrastructure is intended to prevent the economy from becoming too hot or cold, as well as to address China's overcapacity in production for sectors like aluminum, iron, steel, and energy.[11]: 106 The NDRC is also one of the main government agencies responsible for data collection for the Chinese Social Credit System.[13]
The NDRC works with other departments to formulate policies, including drafting laws and regulations.[14]: 39 It works with the Ministry of Commerce to draft negative lists for foreign investments at the national level and for special economic zones. It works with the National Health Commission to research demographic trends and formulate policies on population.[12]
The NDRC manages the General Offices several leading groups, including the National Defense Mobilization Commission, the State Council Leading Group for Western Development, and the State Council Leading Group for the Revitalization of Old Industrial Bases in Northeast China; all of these are led by the premier.[12] It also hosts the General Offices of the State Council Leading Group for Promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, the Leading Group for Coordinated Development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, the Leading Group for Promoting the Development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Leading Group for Promoting the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Leading Group for Promoting Comprehensive Deepening of Reform and Opening in Hainan; these are led by the first-ranking vice premier, with the NDRC chairman usually being the Office director.[12]
The NDRC's Social Development Division has a planning role in cultural industries including sports, tourism, and mass media.[16]: 100
^Ding, Iza (2020). "Pollution Emissions Trading in China". In Esarey, Ashley; Haddad, Mary Alice; Lewis, Joanna I.; Harrell, Stevan (eds.). Greening East Asia: The Rise of the Eco-Developmental State. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN978-0-295-74791-0. JSTORj.ctv19rs1b2.
^ abCheng, Wenting (2023). China in Global Governance of Intellectual Property: Implications for Global Distributive Justice. Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies series. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 124. ISBN978-3-031-24369-1.
^Lewis, Joanna I. (2023). Cooperating for the Climate: Learning from International Partnerships in China's Clean Energy Sector. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. ISBN978-0-262-54482-5.
^Chen, Muyang (2024). The Latecomer's Rise: Policy Banks and the Globalization of China's Development Finance. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. ISBN9781501775857.