The All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC; ) is a non-governmental

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

, established in 1953 as a successor to the chambers of commerce that were first founded during the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. Today, it consists of Chinese industrialists and business people under the leadership of the

United Front Work Department The United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (UFWD; ) is a department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which is officially tasked with "united front work". For this endeavo ...

of the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

(CCP), as well as being a constituent organization of the National Committee of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

and the holder of a number of seats in the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2, ...

. The organization assists the government in managing China's private sector economy and acts as a bridge between the private sector entities and the government.

Core functions

The core responsibilities of the ACFIC are to: * Increase communications between the government and the private economy; * Assist the government in managing the private economy; * Participate in political consultation of national policies and strategies in politics, economy and social affairs; * Help its members in technological innovation, management and culture for increased competitiveness and in achieving

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

; * Represent the legitimate rights of its members and to extend their proposals and requirements to government; * Provide members with services in training, financing, technology, legal consultation and information, and to resolve the difficulties and problems they are facing; * Build closer relationships with foreign commercial and industrial entities; * Help members to go overseas for business opportunities and contribute to China's economic reforms.

Structure

The agency is structured into the following departments: * General Office * Department of Research * Department of Membership * Department of Publicity and Education * Department of Economic Service * Department of Poverty Relief and Social Service * Department of International Liaison * Department of Legal Affairs * Department of Human Resources

Leadership

From November 2002 to 2012, the ACFIC had been led by Chairman Huang Mengfu (), who, like his predecessors, was also a vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, ranking as a national leader of China. His predecessor was

Jing Shuping Jing Shuping (, 7 July 1918 – September 14, 2009) was a Chinese businessman who founded the Minsheng Bank, the first privately owned bank to open in the Communist People's Republic of China, in 1996. Jing Shuping graduated from Saint John' ...

, founder of the first private bank in modern China and the son of a well-known entrepreneur of the late Qing Dynasty. The first vice-chairman of the ACFIC is Quan Zhezhu (Jeon Cheol-su)(), a deputy minister of the United Front Department originally from

Jilin Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...

. The ACFIC has another 23 vice-chairpersons, most of them private entrepreneurs.

Regional federations

More than 3,000 regional federations of industry and commerce (FIC) have been established in all

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

and

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

and most

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of China. As of 2009, they listed a combined membership of 2.6 million private enterprises. The relationship between ACFIC and the regional FIC is described as a role of guidance, but the statute of ACFIC is also valid for the regional federations. In September 2020, the CCP announced that it would establish more party committees in regional FICs, and would arrange a special liaison between them and the CCP.

References

External links