Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM)

中华人民共和国商务部

Address: No. 2 Dong Chang'an Avenue, Beijing, China, 100731
Tel: 86-10-65121919
Fax: 86-10-65198173
Website: http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/

Minister: Lu Fuyuan
Vice-ministers: Yu Guangzhou, Zhang Zhigang, An Min, Wei Jianguo, Ma Xiuhong, Liao Xiaoqi

The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) began operation in March 2003. It replaced the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC), the State Economic and Trade Commission (SETC), and sections of the State Development Planning Commission (SDPC). The stated purpose of the restructuring was to eliminate the overlap and redundancy that existed under the previous system.

The stated responsibilities of MOFCOM are the following:

1. To formulate and implement specific policies and reform plans of foreign trade, economic cooperation and foreign investment.

2. To work out and execute mid-term and long-term import and export planning and development strategies.

3. To formulate and enforce trade in technology policies and regulations as well as policies encouraging the export of technology and complete plant. To regulate the import of technology and equipment and international bidding, control the export of technology under state export restriction and the export and re-export of imported technology. To draft and implement state export control policies and issue nonproliferation-related export licenses.

4. To analyze and study China's foreign investment developments and present regular briefings to the State Council.

5. To perform centralized and specialized management of China's foreign aid work.

6. To be in charge of China's foreign economic cooperation.

7. To draw up and execute country/region-specific economic and trade policies.

8. To draft and implement multilateral economic and trade policies. To take part in events organized by international economic and trade organizations on behalf of the Chinese government. To be responsible for multilateral economic and trade negotiations and international trade in service negotiations, and for negotiating and signing of international economic and trade treaties and agreements, and to coordinate the positions and views of the relevant departments under the State Council in the negotiating process.

9. To draft and execute economic and trade policies as well as mid-term and long-term trade development planning and administrative rules for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao SAR) and Taiwan.

10. To set up qualification criteria for all kinds of Chinese enterprises to obtain foreign trade rights or to be engaged in international forwarding business, and undertake to examine and approve the qualifications prescribed by relevant laws and regulations.

11. To take part in the research on macro-control policy of foreign trade and economic relations and put forward suggestions in this respect.

12. To take the responsibility of personnel training, selecting and managing for Chinese Economic and Commercial Counselor's Offices of Chinese Embassies and missions to international organizations.

13. To be responsible for the follow-up work of China's WTO accession negotiations according to the authorization of the State Council. To handle the relationship with the WTO and participate in its regular consultations on behalf of the Chinese government.

Updated 11/5/2003

This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by MIIS.