Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China
中华人民共和国工业和信息化部
Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Gōngyè Hé Xìnxīhuàbù
Agency overview
FormedMarch 2008; 15 years ago (2008-03)
Superseding agency
  • Ministry of Information Industry
TypeConstituent Department of the State Council (cabinet-level executive department)
JurisdictionGovernment of China
HeadquartersBeijing
Minister responsible
Deputy Ministers responsible
  • Zhang Keijan
  • Xu Xiaolan[1]
  • Xin Guobin
  • Zhang Yunming
  • Wang Jiangping
Agency executives
  • Ye Min, Leader of Discipline and Inspection & Supervision Team
  • Zhao Zhiguo, Director of Information and Communication Administration
  • Zhang Jianmin, Director of China Tobacco
  • Tian Yulong, Chief Engineer
  • Gao Dongsheng, Chief Economist
Parent agencyState Council
Child agencies
Websitewww.miit.gov.cn Edit this at Wikidata
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
Simplified Chinese中华人民共和国工业和信息化部
Traditional Chinese中華人民共和國工業和信息化部

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is the sixth-ranked executive department of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. It is responsible for regulation and development of the postal service, Internet, wireless, broadcasting, communications, production of electronic and information goods, software industry and the promotion of the national knowledge economy.

History

In 2004, the MIIT began the Connecting Every Village Project to promote universal access to telecommunication and internet services in rural China.[2]: 24–25  The MIIT required that six state-owned companies, including the main telecommunications and internet providers China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, build the communications infrastructure and assist in financing the project.[2]: 25  Beginning in late 2009, the program began building rural telecenters each of which had at least one telephone, computer, and internet connectivity.[2]: 37–38  Approximately 90,000 rural telecenters were built by 2011.[2]: 38  As of December 2019, 135 million rural households had used broadband internet.[2]: 25  The program successfully extended internet infrastructure throughout rural China and promoted development of the internet.[2]: 25 

The State Council announced during the 1st session of the 11th National People's Congress that the MIIT would supersede the Ministry of Information Industry (MII).[3]

In 2013, the ministry's Made in China 2025 plan was approved by the State Council. It took over two years to complete by one hundred and fifty people. The plan's aim is to improve production efficiency and quality.[4]

Functions

The ministry is responsible for industrial development, policy, and standards. It also oversees industry operations monitoring, innovation, and information technology.[5] It is the government body primarily responsible for supervising product standards.[6]: 107 

The ministry is known for drafting regulations that lays the groundwork for censorship.[7] In 2006, Human Rights Watch said that the ministry is responsible for overseeing technical implementation of the censorship in China.[8]

The ministry is responsible for the current iteration of the Thousand Talents Plan called Qiming.[9]

Organization

The ministry administers the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, and the State Tobacco Monopoly Bureau.[10] The MIIT was historically responsible for the nation's tobacco control, including over the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, but this task was assigned to the National Health Commission as part of a large-scale government reform in 2018.[11] Under the arrangement "one institution with two names", the MIIT reserves the external brands of the China National Space Administration and the China Atomic Energy Authority.[5]

The MIIT oversees the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a government think tank that focuses on telecommunications and the digital economy. It also oversees seven universities, including top universities such as the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Beijing Institute of Technology, the Harbin Institute of Technology, and the Northwestern Polytechnical University. The MIIT also co-manages the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, used by the government to invest in semiconductor companies, together with the Ministry of Finance.[5]

Structure

List of ministers

No. Name Took office Left office
Minister of Information Industry
1 Wu Jichuan March 1998 March 2003
2 Wang Xudong March 2003 March 2008
Minister of Industry and Information Technology
3 Li Yizhong March 2008 December 2010
4 Miao Wei December 2010 August 2020
5 Xiao Yaqing August 2020 July 2022
6 Jin Zhuanglong July 2022 Incumbent

List of party secretaries

No. Name Took office Left office
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
1 Li Yizhong March 2008 December 2010
2 Miao Wei December 2010 July 2020
3 Xiao Yaqing July 2020 July 2022
4 Jin Zhuanglong July 2022 Incumbent

See also

References

  1. ^ https://www.uschina.org/sites/default/files/2020.09.30_miit_organization_chart.pdf
  2. ^ a b c d e f Shi, Song (2023). China and the Internet: Using New Media for Development and Social Change. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 9781978834736.
  3. ^ "工业和信息化部英文译名确定 新网站将上线_科技频道_新华网". news.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 2008-07-05.
  4. ^ Kennedy, Scott (June 2015). "Made in China 2025". Center for Strategic and International Studies. Retrieved 2015-07-14.
  5. ^ a b c "Decoding Chinese Politics". Asia Society. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  6. ^ Li, David Daokui (2024). China's World View: Demystifying China to Prevent Global Conflict. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0393292398.
  7. ^ Shih, Gerry (30 March 2016). "China proposes new Web rules that could enhance censorship". Associated Press. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  8. ^ ""Race to the Bottom": Corporate Complicity in Chinese Internet Censorship: II. How Censorship Works in China: A Brief Overview". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  9. ^ Zhu, Julie; Potkin, Fanny; Baptista, Eduardo; Martina, Michael (2023-08-24). "China quietly recruits overseas chip talent as US tightens curbs". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-08-26. The primary replacement for TTP is a program called Qiming overseen by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
  10. ^ "Beijing opens green super-ministry | The Australian". Archived from the original on 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  11. ^ Leng, Sidney (15 March 2018). "China's ministry in charge of tobacco control had ties to the industry. Not anymore". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2018-03-16.

External links