Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

中华人民共和国工业和信息化部
Agency overview
Formed	March 2008; 16 years ago (2008-03)
Superseding agency	Ministry of Information Industry
Type	Constituent Department of the State Council (cabinet-level executive department)
Jurisdiction	Government of China
Headquarters	Beijing
Minister responsible	Jin Zhuanglong
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 agency	State Council
Child agencies	State Tobacco Monopoly Administration State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense China National Space Administration China Atomic Energy Authority State Radio Regulation of China
Website	www.miit.gov.cn

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

List of party secretaries