To deepen reform of industry associations and chambers of commerce and to promote their standardized and sound development, with the approval of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the following opinions are hereby put forward.

I. General Requirements

We will remain guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the resolutions of all plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee, uphold and strengthen the Party’s overall leadership, put the people at the center, adhere to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, fully, accurately, and comprehensively apply the new development philosophy, and strengthen Party building as the guiding force. We will both vigorously foster development and enforce rigorous oversight and management, improve the institutional framework and operational mechanisms for industry associations and chambers of commerce that are aligned with a high‑level socialist market economy, refine a comprehensive governance system integrating government regulation, social oversight, and self‑discipline and self‑governance, optimize the structural layout and development environment of industry associations and chambers of commerce, and promote their transformation and upgrading in accordance with market‑oriented, professional, and standardized standards, thereby giving full play to their positive role in serving economic and social development.

II. Uphold and Strengthen the Party’s Overall Leadership

(1) Streamline the management system for Party building. Accelerate the establishment of a Party‑building framework that integrates sectoral and regional approaches, ensures vertical coordination, and fosters effective collaboration; establish and improve the working mechanism of “managing both the industry and Party building”; and ensure that all departments assume joint responsibility for this work. Further clarify the affiliation of Party organizations within industry associations and chambers of commerce, and build a comprehensive, smoothly functioning Party organization system. For industry associations and chambers of commerce with competent supervisory authorities, their Party‑building work shall be led and managed by the Party organization of the respective supervisory authority, while receiving guidance from the Party committee’s social work department.

(II) Strengthen the political and organizational functions of Party organizations. Enhance the quality of Party organization and work coverage, and improve mechanisms for Party organizations to fulfill their roles. Launch initiatives to elevate the quality of Party building in industry associations and chambers of commerce, advance the standardization and regularization of Party branches, and comprehensively consolidate the foundation of Party building. Party organizations within industry associations and chambers of commerce must strictly perform their duties in accordance with the Party Constitution and relevant internal Party regulations, implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, reinforce their political responsibility to lead development, and effectively unite and serve the professionals in their respective industries and fields. They must also rigorously enforce the accountability system for ideological work and proactively prevent and defuse risks in the ideological sphere.

(3) Strengthen standardization of leadership transitions and the development of leadership teams. Conduct leadership transitions in strict accordance with regulations, laws, and charters; promote the effective participation of Party organizations within industry associations and chambers of commerce in decision-making on major matters, including key personnel appointments; establish and improve mechanisms for timely council elections and for issuing timely reminders and oversight when leaders reach retirement age; standardize and refine transition procedures; intensify efforts to address irregularities in leadership transitions; and strengthen measures to rectify and impose sanctions for violations. Party committees’ social work departments should prioritize political criteria, reinforce political vetting, and ensure rigorous review of leadership candidates. Establish and完善 systems governing the nomination, review, public announcement, supervision, and exit of leaders in industry associations and chambers of commerce. Promote “two-way entry and cross‑appointment” between Party-member management personnel and members of Party organization leading bodies. Put in place mechanisms for regular performance reporting by principal leaders and for holding them accountable. Strictly regulate the establishment of honorary positions for leaders. Strengthen oversight and management of leaders, promptly adjusting those who no longer meet eligibility requirements or who are found to be unfit or incompetent.

4. Continuously strengthen oversight and disciplinary enforcement. Party organizations within industry associations and chambers of commerce must earnestly fulfill their principal responsibility for exercising full and rigorous Party self‑discipline, while their internal discipline inspection bodies must effectively perform their supervisory duties, and both should, in light of actual conditions, improve and refine their discipline‑inspection mechanisms. We will enhance the standardization, rule of law, and institutionalization of discipline‑inspection work, establish and improve systems for handling leads and clues, and rigorously investigate and address violations of the spirit of the CPC Central Committee’s Eight‑Point Decision on Improving Party and Government Conduct, as well as other breaches of discipline and law. We will also refine anti‑corruption and integrity‑building systems within industry associations and chambers of commerce, deepen efforts to rectify unhealthy tendencies and corruption, and advance, in a coordinated manner, the goals of ensuring that officials dare not be corrupt, cannot be corrupt, and do not want to be corrupt.

III. Improving the Management System and Operational Mechanisms of Industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce

(5) Consolidate and expand the achievements of decoupling reform. Establish and improve a management system characterized by unified leadership by Party committees, coordinated oversight by Party committee social work departments, and clear division of responsibilities and collaborative synergy among registration and administration authorities, industry regulators, competent supervisory bodies, and relevant functional departments, under comprehensive regulatory oversight. For industry associations and chambers of commerce that have competent supervisory bodies, progressively promote, as required, institutional separation, functional disengagement, financial independence, and personnel autonomy; strengthen routine guidance and administrative supervision; and ensure lawful, autonomous, standardized operations and sound, orderly development.

(6) Continue to deepen reform of the registration system. Develop and promulgate measures for the direct registration of industry associations and chambers of commerce, establish a mechanism for sharing registration information, and, at the time of establishment and registration, clearly designate the competent administrative authorities. Standardize the scope and conditions under which industry associations and chambers of commerce at different levels admit members. Explore simplified procedures for the deregistration of industry associations and chambers of commerce, and improve the exit‑from‑the‑system framework.

(7) Explore the establishment of a categorized management system. Strengthen categorized supervision of industry associations and chambers of commerce, scientifically allocating regulatory resources and implementing differentiated management based on their respective categories. For those associations and chambers of commerce that, by virtue of statutory authorization or upon entrustment by Party and government organs to manage public affairs, exhibit a certain degree of compulsory or monopolistic characteristics, or face frequent operational issues and high risks of non-compliance, intensify oversight by increasing the proportion of random inspections and the frequency of checks. Establish and improve a system for seeking approval and reporting on major matters, and strengthen oversight of key areas such as fee‑setting, asset and financial management, foreign exchanges and cooperation, ideological work, and significant business activities. Further refine the tiered evaluation system for industry associations and chambers of commerce.

(8) Strengthen the responsibilities of departmental management and service provision. Clearly designate the industry‑specific administrative departments for directly registered and decoupled industry associations and chambers of commerce; where multiple departments are involved, a lead administrative department shall be identified. These industry‑specific administrative departments shall enhance their working relationships with the relevant industry associations and chambers of commerce through exchanges and symposiums, field visits and surveys, and by soliciting opinions, and shall fulfill their duties—such as providing business guidance, exercising industry oversight, and advancing Party building—in accordance with their respective functions. All localities and relevant departments are required to review all management and service matters pertaining to industry associations and chambers of commerce, with particular attention to identifying issues that have arisen since decoupling, and to formulate and implement measures for improvement. For industry associations and chambers of commerce that have not yet been decoupled, their supervising authorities shall continue to strengthen management and service provision.

(9) Establish and improve a social oversight mechanism. Put in place an information disclosure system for industry associations and chambers of commerce, and encourage and support the media, the general public, and members to exercise oversight over these organizations. Explore the establishment of a professional, socially-oriented third-party oversight mechanism. Ensure smooth channels for complaints and reports, and establish a sound mechanism for handling and providing feedback on such submissions.

(10) Promote the enhancement of law-based self-governance capabilities. Strengthen the development of federated and comprehensive industry associations and chambers of commerce, and leverage the exemplary and leading role of national-level industry associations and chambers of commerce. Establish and improve systems for members’ (or members’ representatives’) assemblies, boards of directors (including executive committees), and supervisory boards (or supervisors), and refine internal management systems guided by the articles of association. Implement democratic election, democratic consultation, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic oversight. Standardize the establishment of and exercise strict oversight over administrative offices and branch (representative) institutions. Regulate fee‑charging practices of industry associations and chambers of commerce, as well as their activities involving international exchanges and cooperation.

(11) Strengthen asset and financial management across the board. Establish and improve financial management systems for industry associations and chambers of commerce, strictly enforce accounting laws, regulations, and standards, and ensure that accounting records are truthful, complete, and accurate. Industry associations and chambers of commerce must assume primary responsibility for asset management and clearly define the scope of major asset‑related matters. Standardize internal decision‑making and management processes, and align asset‑management activities with their core functions and principal business objectives. Enhance comprehensive oversight of the assets of industry associations and chambers of commerce, and refine an asset‑management framework characterized by clear ownership, standardized and orderly operations, openness and transparency, and rigorous supervision.

(12) Strictly regulate the establishment of enterprises by industry associations and chambers of commerce. Industry associations and chambers of commerce shall, in accordance with the principles of legality, necessity, standardization, and effectiveness, exercise rigorous control over the establishment of enterprises; they may not establish enterprises that directly compete with their members, nor may they establish enterprises beyond the scope of their stated purposes and business activities, nor may they use such enterprises to engage in conduct that disrupts market order. In general, enterprises thus established may not, in turn, establish additional enterprises, nor may they operate under the name of the industry association or chamber of commerce; any profits generated must be allocated to activities consistent with the association’s or chamber’s mission. The heads of industry associations and chambers of commerce, as well as their branch (representative) offices, and relatives of such officials, shall not hold positions in, nor receive remuneration or any form of subsidies from, the enterprises they have established. Measures for the administration of enterprise establishment by industry associations and chambers of commerce shall be formulated, with stringent procedures, enhanced oversight mechanisms, and strengthened risk management.

IV. Adjusting and Optimizing the Structure and Layout of Industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce

(13) Optimize structural layout. In accordance with the principles of coordination and efficiency, streamline and consolidate industry associations and chambers of commerce that exhibit overlapping functions, operate on too small a scale, are overly fragmented in their sectoral divisions, or have limited functional effectiveness. Promptly phase out, in compliance with the law, those associations and chambers of commerce that have ceased to function effectively, disrupt market order, experience sectoral decline, or have already fulfilled their stated purposes and missions. Focus on cultivating and prioritizing the development of industry associations and chambers of commerce that align with major national strategies and regional development priorities, meet the needs of industrial transformation and upgrading, and support the growth of new‑type productive forces. Actively encourage the lawful establishment of such organizations in strategic emerging industries, future‑oriented sectors, and green, low‑carbon industries.

(14) Rationally regulate scale. Strengthen efforts to consolidate national-level industry associations and chambers of commerce. For local industry associations and chambers of commerce, enhance macro‑level regulation and guidance in light of regional economic and social development trends and changes in industrial structure. With respect to city‑ and county‑level industry associations and chambers of commerce, streamline exit procedures in accordance with the law and, through orderly competition, keep overall scale under control. Adhering to the principles of piloting first and advancing steadily, carry out pilot programs in sectors where national-level industry associations and chambers of commerce are particularly concentrated, as well as in selected localities; after gaining experience, expand implementation in a measured and systematic manner.

V. Actively leverage the functions and roles of industry associations and chambers of commerce.

(15) Regulate industry development. Industry associations and chambers of commerce shall establish and improve systems for self-regulation and mechanisms for self‑imposed constraints, consciously resisting “involutionary” competition; formulate and implement codes of professional ethics; conduct industry credit assessments in accordance with the law; enhance the level of integrity-building within the sector; and better safeguard the orderly development of the industry. Members who violate self‑regulatory rules shall be subject to disciplinary measures, including public notification, suspension of membership, or revocation of membership. Furthermore, industry associations and chambers of commerce should actively play their role in resolving petition‑related disputes and explore the establishment of specialized mediation bodies within these organizations.

(16) Expanding service functions. Industry associations and chambers of commerce shall guide their members and practitioners in studying and implementing the Party’s theories, guidelines, principles, and policies; promote the implementation of national development strategies and sector‑specific plans; and foster high‑quality industry development. They shall, in accordance with the law, provide services such as information consulting, publicity and training, market expansion, and rights protection, and promptly convey the legitimate demands of members and the industry. They should conduct in-depth research and surveys, carry out industry statistics in compliance with the law, strengthen monitoring and forecasting of economic performance, and enhance risk early warning mechanisms. They should develop and implement high‑quality group standards, advance the establishment of advanced industry standard systems, and actively participate in the formulation of industry‑related laws, regulations, policies, and plans, thereby better facilitating the promotion and application of new technologies and products. They should build branded public service platforms to support the development of advanced industrial clusters, and proactively engage in efforts such as rural revitalization, social governance, volunteer services, public welfare and charity, food safety, and emergency rescue.

(17) Participate in international exchanges and cooperation. Industry associations and chambers of commerce, particularly national-level ones, should actively engage in relevant international exchanges and cooperation, as well as in the development of international standards and rules, thereby promoting mutual recognition between domestic standards, certification, and accreditation systems and their international counterparts. They should also participate in, or help establish, international economic and trade dialogue mechanisms, and support the creation of platforms for international supply-and‑demand matchmaking. Furthermore, they should guide and encourage industry enterprises to actively take part in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as in global industrial division of labor and cooperation.

VI. Optimizing the Development Environment for Industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce

(18) Optimize support policies. Encourage local governments and relevant departments to formulate and implement policy measures tailored to the realities of their respective regions, supporting the transformation and development of industry associations and chambers of commerce. Fully implement applicable tax incentives. Urge financial institutions to provide financial support to eligible industry associations and chambers of commerce in accordance with market‑based and rule‑of‑law principles. Mobilize social resources to bolster the development of these organizations. Establish and improve a robust system for training and evaluating professionals, and ensure smooth career advancement pathways. Strengthen efforts to cultivate and train talent within industry associations and chambers of commerce. For functions and tasks that are appropriately entrusted to such entities, local governments and relevant departments shall, in compliance with laws and procedures, transfer or delegate them to qualified industry associations and chambers of commerce. Put in place institutionalized channels for soliciting public suggestions through industry associations and chambers of commerce, and, in accordance with the law, share relevant information and data with those organizations that meet the requisite criteria.

VII. Strengthening Organization and Implementation

All regions and relevant departments shall, under the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, adopt a holistic approach and, in light of their specific circumstances, ensure the effective implementation of these guidelines. Party committees and governments at all levels must strengthen organizational leadership and promptly address major issues as they arise. The social work departments of party committees at all levels should enhance overall coordination and oversight to ensure that related policies and measures are put into practice and yield tangible results. Public awareness campaigns and guidance should be intensified to foster a favorable environment that supports the development of industry associations and chambers of commerce. Any significant matters must be reported to and submitted for approval by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council in accordance with established procedures without delay.