China to Rectify Industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce, Strengthening Party Leadership and Supervision

On April 13, 2026, China's official Xinhua News Agency, authorized by the central authorities, released "Opinions of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on Promoting the Deepening Reform of Industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce." This document outlines 18 measures to rectify the country's more than 100,000 industry associations and chambers of commerce. As of 2024, China had over 100,000 such organizations, including more than 800 national ones, representing over 7.7 million corporate members, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The key objectives of the reform include: 1. Strengthening the Party's Overall Leadership: Emphasizing the need to rationalize Party building management systems and ensure Party building is integrated into industry management. 2. Enhancing Political and Organizational Functions of Party Organizations: Improving coverage and effectiveness of Party work, and implementing ideological work responsibility systems. 3. Standardizing Elections and Leadership Teams: Rectifying irregularities in elections, strengthening political vetting for leaders, and establishing comprehensive management systems for their nomination, review, supervision, and exit. 4. Intensifying Supervision and Discipline: Strengthening anti-corruption efforts and investigating violations of the "Eight-point Regulations" to build a system where officials "dare not, cannot, and do not want to be corrupt." 5. Establishing a Classified Management System: Increasing supervision and inspection frequency for associations authorized to manage public affairs, those with mandatory or monopolistic characteristics, or those with high risks. 6. Comprehensively Strengthening Asset and Financial Management: Strictly controlling the establishment of enterprises by associations, prohibiting those that directly compete with members. 7. Optimizing Structural Layout: Consolidating and eliminating overlapping, small-scale, narrowly defined, or weak associations, while fostering those aligned with national strategies, regional development, industrial upgrading, and new productive forces. 8. Reasonably Controlling Scale: Intensifying consolidation of national associations, guiding local associations, and simplifying exit procedures for city/county-level associations to manage overall numbers. 9. Standardizing Industry Development: Requiring associations to establish self-regulatory mechanisms, resist "involutionary" competition, and penalize members violating rules.