Ministry of Commerce (China)

The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (MOFCOM), is a Cabinet-level executive agency of the State Council of China. It is responsible for formulating policy on foreign trade, export and import regulations, foreign direct investments, consumer protection, market competition and negotiating bilateral and multilateral trade agreements of the Mainland China. It is in charge of the administration of Mainland China's foreign trade pursuant to the Foreign Trade Law.[1] The current Commerce minister is Zhong Shan.

Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China

中华人民共和国商务部 Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Shāngwùbù
Emblem of the People's Republic of China
Logo of MOFCOM
Agency overview
Formed	March 2003
Preceding agency	Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation
Type	Ministry
Jurisdiction	Mainland China
Headquarters	Beijing
Minister responsible	Zhong Shan
Parent agency	State Council
Website	www.mofcom.gov.cn

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.

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

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.

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).

In March 1993, the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade was renamed to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation.

In the spring of 2003, the former Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (MOFTEC) went through a reorganization and was renamed Ministry of Commerce.

The ministry also incorporates the former State Economic and Trade Commission (SETC) and the State Development Planning Commission (SDPC).

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 Co-operation (1993)

State Economic and Trade Commission

State Development Planning Commission (1998)

Ministry of Commerce (2003)

List of ministers

Name	Took office	Left office
Minister of Trade
Ye Jizhuang	October 1949	1952
Minister of Foreign Trade
Ye Jizhuang[2]	1952	June 1967
acting Lin Haiyun (林海云)[2]	September 1965	June 1970
Bai Xiangguo (白相国)[2]	June 1970	October 1973
Li Qiang[2]	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	July 2004
Bo Xilai	July 2004	December 2007
Chen Deming	December 2007	16 March 2013
Gao Hucheng	16 March 2013	24 February 2017
Zhong Shan	24 February 2017	Incumbent

Departmental structure

The Ministry of Commerce is structured into the following departments:

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

[3]

MOFCOM and the CEPA

MOFCOM's responsibility includes fostering closer partnership between the economies of the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, respectively, with the economy of the rest of the People's Republic of China. 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.

References

1. "Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China". mofcom.gov.cn. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
2. 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.
3. Archived April 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Ministry of Commerce of PRC Official website

See also

• China International Electronic Commerce Center (CIECC)
• China Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA)
• Ministries of the People's Republic of China
• Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Republic of China