The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) is an 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.
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 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 MOFCOM continues to have a role in foreign aid through implementing overseas projects and selecting the firms to undertake them.[5]: 147
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
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
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
^ abCheng, Wenting (2023). China in Global Governance of Intellectual Property: Implications for Global Distributive Justice. Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies series. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN978-3-031-24369-1.
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