National Development and Reform Commission

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is the third-ranked executive department of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, which functions as a macroeconomic management agency. Established as the State Planning Commission, the NDRC has broad administrative and planning control over the economy of mainland China, and has a reputation of being the "mini-state council".

The body was first established in November 1952 as the State Planning Commission of the Central People's Government. It was modeled after Gosplan. Gao Gang was its first director. In 1954, it was transformed to the State Planning Commission of the People's Republic of China. The NDRC's functions are to study and formulate policies for economic and social development, maintain the balance of economic development, and to guide restructuring of the economic system of mainland China.

In March 1998, the commission was renamed into the State Development Planning Commission. It was renamed again in March 2003 to its current name, the National Development and Reform Commission.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, the NDRC issued a circular economy-focused policy document requiring maximization of recycling and reuse of wastewater, exhaust gas, and water residue generated during mining and smelting.

In 2008, the NDRC issued a set of policies designed to further development the economies of central regions of China, consistent with the Hu-Wen administration's efforts to balance regional development.

In 2016, the NDRC and Alibaba Group signed an agreement to promote rural e-commerce development.

In 2017, the NDRC announced the creation of China's national carbon emissions trading system.

Prior to 2018, it was also responsible for enforcing China's antitrust law, but this function has been transferred to the State Administration for Market Regulation as part of the deepening the reform of the Party and state institutions. In February 2015, the NDRC completed an investigation into Qualcomm, finding that violated the Anti-Monopoly Law by imposing unreasonable requirements for patent licensing. Qualcomm was fined the equivalent of US$975 million. Also in 2018, the NDRC's climate policymaking functions were transferred to the newly created Ministry of Ecology and Environment.