Born Amid Reforms and Opening, Grown Up
With the Development of Foreign Trade

China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME) was born on July 21, 1988. Reviewing the past is of great significance for summing up experience and looking forward to the future.

I. Review of the Past
Over the past decade, CCCME has engaged in three areas of work, the first being coordination and guidance, the second consulting service and the third playing role as a bridge and a link.
1. Coordination continuously deepened
Coordination is a main item of work of the Chamber. In the past, the Chamber and its Branches did a great deal of coordination work by convening price coordination meetings, market analysis meetings, special-item coordinating meetings, etc. The scope, contents, and ways as well as measures of the management, supervision and inspection taken for coordination have been developing along with the deepening of the foreign trade system reform while maintaining a certain level of consistency. For instance, at the initial stage, floor price of the Chamber was set based on the price coordination. And afterwards, considering that price should be determined by enterprises themselves under market economy condition, it was converted to fellow trader agreed price to incarnate that the price has been agreed upon by enterprises themselves not forced upon by the Chamber. The price coordination has developed from mainly coordinating single units at the initial stage to coordinating both single units and complete sets of equipment and plant. And the scope of coordination has been expanded to not only including prices but also markets, clients, trademarks and patents as well.
The quality of coordination work has a bearing on the national interests, and also on the interests of the member enterprises. So, coordination must follow the principle of openness, justness and fairness. Rules were formulated of the coordination work to follow. We firmly relied on the member enterprises and developed democratic style of work in the process of coordination. For major coordination items, we reported to and listened to advice from, relevant government departments so as to obtain support from all circles. For export of complete sets of equipment and plant, we strengthened contacts with Chinese embassies and consulates abroad to ask for their opinions and to exchange information. In recent years, cooperative agreements were signed with China Exim Bank and Bank of China to enable the Chamber's coordination in tandem with bank credits.
Whether the Chamber can pay its due role or how big a role it can play depend, to a rather great extent, on the effectiveness of coordination. To raise the coordinating effectiveness, first of all, the Chamber is required to work hard and to coordinate correctly, and the self-discipline of members is also important. Presently, not all business operators are members of the Chamber, and the self-discipline consciousness of the members is not so high. Under such circumstances, verification of the implementation of the coordination results should be strengthened, and the support from government departments concerned is indispensable. Therefore, the Chamber in accordance with the opinion of the members every year made investigation and verifications by organizing investigations at Customs offices, using Customs stations for verification, or sending people directly to enterprises concerned for an investigation, and issued the finding to the member enterprises, and submitted to the government departments concerned, that would, as appropriate, take administrative and/or legal measures therefore. This contributes very much to the increased coordinating effectiveness.
2. The scope of services continuously expanded
Services provided by the Chamber have been expanding gradually with the growth of the Chamber. They include: providing trade information, organizing exhibitions at home and abroad, holding various training courses, seminars, lectures and assisting members in taking part in defending in antidumping cases, etc.
With regard to information provision, services have ranged from publishing publications to rendering written information, establishing the trade information station using computer network, and editing and publishing at home and abroad CR-ROM that gives presentations of China's import and export of machinery and electronic products and related enterprises, and of China's laws and regulations that govern the import and export of machinery and electronic products. Currently, the Chamber is providing members with services of trade promotion, notice on surplus materials to supply, and setting up online fair, etc. by capitalizing on the internet.
As regards domestic exhibitions, services have developed from sending several representatives to take part in relevant delegations to the China Export Commodities Fair (CECF) for some coordinating work to organizing independently Shenzhen Machinery & Electronic Products Fair. Since 1994, the Chamber has been organizing the Halls for Machinery and Electronic Products of the CECF in accordance with the requirements of the CECF reform. The number of booths of the Hall for Machinery and electronic products has increased from 705 when they were first organized to 1258 of the latest Fair.
As for exhibitions held abroad, CCCME members have been organized to take part in about ten international exhibitions every year. The Chamber has organized machinery and electronics exhibitions successively in Indonesia and Cameroon. Entrusted by MOFTEC, the Chamber has co-organized with other units and headed Chinese delegations to take part in some regular international exhibitions.
In order to implement the strategy of " achieving success with best quality ", the Chamber has actively offered suggestions to the State Bureau of Technical Supervision and the State Administration for Commodity Inspection on encouraging export enterprises to organize ISO9000 quality assurance system certification. It also conducted propaganda for and assisted the member enterprises in product CE Certification and other certifications for product quality, safety and environmental protection.
In an effort to carry out the strategy of " market diversification ", the Chamber has organized lectures and seminars on markets in Latin America, Africa and other regions every year; has organized exchanges of experience among member enterprises in exploring new markets; organized member enterprises to meet, to have friendly gathering and to have business talks with foreign officials and entrepreneurs; and organized member enterprises to visit Latin America and Africa for investigations, trade talks and other business purposes.
In respect of organizing member enterprises to take part in defending in antidumping cases, the Chamber has been working from holding training courses to help them to get legal knowledge of antidumping to organizing relevant members to defend. The defenders organized have been expanded from CCCME members only to nonmembers and enterprises with foreign investment organized to defend jointly. The work has been developed from organizing of defending only to implementing the principle of " whoever defends will benefit " to protect the interest of the defender.
The principle the Chamber follows in providing services to the members is emphasizing practical results. The purpose is not to make profits, but to enable the members benefit from the services the Chamber provides while lightening their burden as far as possible.
An active role as a bridge and a link played
On one hand, the Chamber has timely transmitted important information issued by government departments to its members by various means, and lectures on current policies have been organized every year with leading officials of relevant government departments invited as the lecturers. And on the other hand, the Chamber have taken every opportunity to solicit for opinions and requirements from the members, which after being sorted out and analyzed, would be reflected to relevant departments in forms of written or oral reports, or at meetings. For instance, such issues as Iraqi payment in arrears, export refund, customs declaration-related issues, extra charging, shortage of credit fund of enterprises, etc. have been reported to departments concerned. Some of the issues have aroused attention by leaders of the State Council and ministries/commissions concerned who wrote instructions therefore, thus helping to bring about the solution of these issues.
With the continuous development of the Chamber's work, considerable progress has been made in the self-construction of the Chamber. Over the past decade, the Chamber has convened three member representative meetings and formed three councils. The chairman and vice chairman of each council consists of representatives elected from among the members and full-time personnel recommended by departments concerned, fairly well embodying the Chamber's community nature and the feature of extensiveness of association of machinery and electronic products. The membership of the Chamber has grown from 600 when it was set up to more than 2600 now. Organizational structure has been adjusted. Now there are 7 divisions and 14 professional branches, with 106 staff members and workers (including permanent and temporary personnel).
To promote work efficiently, an internal office automation network has been gradually constructed, laying a certain material foundation for the long-term development of the Chamber.

II. Looking forward to the future
The 15th Congress of the Party advanced that the role of intermediary institution should be brought into play. This is a turning point for the further development of the Chamber. Under the new historic condition of socialist market economy, how to give fuller scope to the Chamber is a new subject we face.
In its future work the, Chamber must take the requirements of the members as stating points and put stress on the following while doing well in other respects.
1. As the Chamber undertakes coordinating task, many of fellow trader agreements are not only binding members but sometimes to be implemented by all related enterprises as well. So, the Chamber would like to appeal the State to formulate and put into effect Regulations on the Work of Import and Export Chamber of Commerce as soon as possible to provide explicit legal basis for the Chambers' work and to create sound legal environment for the Chambers' development.
2. With the ever increasing of the number enterprises with foreign trade operating right, the Chamber will serve large importers and exporters among the members, and serve the medium and small member enterprises in multitude as well. Therefore, we should further expand information sources, increase service means, and explore new ways of service to members in respects of law, finance, transportation, certificates of origin, as well as market development and timely providing effective information, etc.
3. In accordance with the coordinating experience and progress of current reform and opening up, to revise stipulation concerning the coordination procedures for single units and complete sets of equipment so as to further improve the coordination effectiveness with the support of departments concerned.
4. Promoting the combination of science, industry and trade. The Chamber will promote cooperation and information exchange through establishing contacts with various industrial associations and scientific research institutes. It will further implement "Macro Economy and Trade Strategy" by encouraging enterprises to organize group corporations with integration of science, industry and trade, to jointly develop new products, explore new markets, establish business information network, sales network and maintenance and service network, etc.
5. We shall better play a role as a bridge and a link by further strengthening contacts with government departments concerned, establishing channels for direct, fast and consistent transfer of information and exchange of views, and timely reporting problems, opinions and suggestions concerning members' work to the government departments concerned with a view to obtaining support from them. Restructured government departments, having fewer personnel to do more work, should make full use of and give full scope to the Chambers of Commerce, let the Chamber take part in formulating policies and the studying and discussing related issues, and attach importance to the opinions and suggestions of the Chamber.
6. Vigorously carry out foreign trade promotion activities, and further strengthen contacts with foreign counterpart. Promote member enterprises foreign trade and economic cooperation by organizing exchange of visit and mutual participation in exhibitions, establishing contacts and cooperative relations, etc. to foster expansion of foreign trade and economic cooperation of member enterprises.
7. Further improve the quality of the staff and better the organizational structure. Strive to do more work with less personnel increase through personnel training and rigorous personnel administration. The establishment of regional branches in key regions shall be considered in accordance with requirements and possibilities in order to serve the members in the neighborhood. Representative offices will be set up in key countries when necessary.
8. Looking forward to the future, we feel our responsibilities is grave, and our tasks are glorious. We are determined to consistently hold on the spirit of being diligent and thrifty, working hard and perseveringly, reforming unceasingly, and striving to be enterprising, to serve the member enterprises heart and soul, and to make new contribution to the nation's foreign economic and trade undertakings of machinery and electronic products.