Ministry of Information Industry

The Ministry of Information Industry (MII; Xinxi chanyebu) is the regulatory watchdog for China’s electronic communications industries. Formed in 1998, this super-ministry absorbed the functions of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), the Ministry of Electronic Industries (MEI), and the network management responsibilities of the Ministry of Radio Film and Television (MRFT). The formation of the MII is seen as a response to the convergence (ronghe) of telecommunications, broadcasting and information technology and the need to develop national strategies, policies and technical standards. It oversees telecommunications and information service licences and fees, multimedia and broadband developments, broadcasting networks and spectrum allocation, satellite orbit positioning, as well as monitoring the development of China’s Internet and the commercial applications of wireless, fixed line and satellite networks. While the MII is responsible for licensing Internet Service Providers (ISPs), control of content is subject to regulation by the State Information Office.

Likewise television content is monitored by the State Administration for Radio, Film and Television (SARFT).

The MII is also responsible for overseeing the development of China’s National Information Infrastructure (CNII), a process that involves a delicate balance between the need to protect domestic information and communication technology industries from foreign control, and the need to attract foreign investment in high-tech value-added services industries. To the extent that this process necessitates integration in the world trading system, the MII is more constrained by the regulatory architecture of the World Trade Organization than the SARFT, which primarily administers and licenses domestic television industries.

Further reading

http://www.mii.gov.cn/

Ure, J. and Liang, Xiong-Jian (2000). ‘Convergence and China’s national Information Infrastructure’. In M.Hukill, R.Ono, and C.Vallath (eds). Electronic Communication Convergence: Policy Challenges in Asia. New Delhi: Sage.

MICHAEL KEANE