Historical Organization
Ministry of Commerce
Ministry of Commerce
Details
Organization Timeline
New national foreign-investment negative list is issued
📅 28 June 2018The revised negative list reduced restrictions on foreign investment in selected sectors, including finance and manufacturing. The list-based approach marked a shift toward permitting activity...
First China International Import Expo opens in Shanghai
📅 5 November 2018China launched a national-level expo focused on imports, presenting itself as a large consumer market and a supporter of trade liberalization. The event accompanied calls for openness during a...
First China International Import Expo opens
📅 5 November 2018The expo promoted imports and framed China as a defender of trade openness amid rising tariff conflict with the United States. Import commitments could expand market access, but the event also...
Foreign Investment Law is adopted
📅 15 March 2019The NPC adopted a single law to replace three older laws governing foreign-invested enterprises. It promised national treatment and protection against forced technology transfer, reflecting external...
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is signed
📅 15 November 2020China and fourteen Asia-Pacific partners signed RCEP after years of negotiations. The agreement created a large regional trade framework and expanded China’s regional economic integration, while trade...
China formally applies to join CPTPP
📅 16 September 2021China submitted a formal application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The move signaled its interest in shaping high-standard regional trade rules...
RCEP enters into force for initial member economies
📅 1 January 2022The agreement began lowering tariffs and standardizing some regional trade rules for China and participating members. It deepened South-South and Asia-Pacific economic integration, offering...
China announces countermeasures to new US tariffs
📅 4 February 2025Beijing announced additional tariffs on selected US imports and other measures after Washington imposed new duties on Chinese goods. The response showed China using its market access and regulatory...
China announces export controls on some medium and heavy rare-earth items
📅 4 April 2025The Ministry of Commerce and customs authorities announced licensing controls for specified rare-earth-related items. The measures came amid intensifying technology and trade restrictions and...
Shanghai free-trade-zone practices are extended across China
📅 4 July 2025China approved replication of 77 pilot measures in digital trade, services, procurement, IP, cross-border finance, and data governance. This is a state-managed form of opening: selectively adopting...
China expands export controls on overseas rare-earth-related items
📅 9 October 2025China announced controls covering specified rare earth materials, technologies, and foreign-produced items containing Chinese-origin content. The expansion demonstrated the geopolitical weight of...
Service-consumption work plan seeks new household-demand drivers
📅 29 January 2026The work plan asks localities to improve service-consumption environments and design targeted measures. It reflects a transition from goods exports and construction toward household services as a...
China announces zero-tariff access for 53 African diplomatic partners
📅 14 February 2026China announced that zero-tariff treatment would expand to imports from all 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations, effective May 1. The measure can improve market access,...
Industrial and supply-chain security regulations formalize resilience policy
📅 7 April 2026The regulations establish a framework for monitoring and responding to risks to industrial and supply chains. They deepen the state's role in managing globalization under geopolitical pressure,...
Inner Mongolia Pilot Free Trade Zone expands opening toward northern borders
📅 9 April 2026The new zone brings China's pilot FTZ network to 23, targeting trade, logistics, innovation, and links with northern neighbors. Opening is organized through territorial pilots under central oversight,...
Comprehensive bonded-zone measures combine trade facilitation and supply-chain security
📅 18 April 2026Twenty-four measures support cross-border e-commerce, bonded maintenance, biomedicine, domestic-foreign trade integration, and smart regulation. Bonded zones have become major platforms for China's...
State Council targets a 100-trillion-yuan service sector by 2030
📅 21 April 2026Guidelines seek to expand service capacity, logistics, software, health, childcare, eldercare, culture, and tourism. The ambition reflects services' growing share of output and employment, but...
Wang Yi announces framework to expand two-way trade
📅 15 May 2026Wang Yi said the two governments would work to expand trade under a reciprocal tariff-reduction framework following leader-level talks. The announcement signaled de-escalation in a conflict whose...
Outbound-investment regulation sets rules for Chinese firms investing abroad
📅 1 June 2026A new regulation promotes higher-quality outbound investment while protecting investor interests and safeguarding sovereignty and security. It formalizes China's role as a source of global capital and...
China-EU launch Trade and Investment Consultations in Brussels
📅 29 June 2026The Chinese commerce minister and EU trade commissioner held the first meeting of a new consultation mechanism. They agreed to strengthen export-control dialogue and discussed stability in global...
Consumption targets anchor growth strategy in the 15th-plan period
📅 14 July 2026The government set a 60-trillion-yuan retail-sales target and called for consumption-driven growth through 2030. This signals an effort to rebalance from investment and exports toward domestic demand,...