Study On The Development And Government Policy Of Chambers Of Commerce In Shanghai

With the fast development of the socialist market economy, the Chambers of Commerce in Shanghai have been experiencing a new round of development. As NGO and NPO organizations in economic field, the Chambers of Commerce have been playing important roles in between the enterprises, market and government, and have attracted increasing attentions from both the business circle and the government departments. However, due to the restrictions of the existing government management system and the overall social environment, the value and functions of the Chambers of Commerce have not been fully recognized by the society. The main problem and difficulties are: firstly, lacking of the legal definition of the nature and function of Chambers, which resulting in the vague clarification between the non-governmental status and government status; secondly, too much government interference makes it difficult for the Chambers to operate independently; thirdly, there are also contradictions between the government-operated industry associations and the non-governmental chambers of commerce; fourthly, the Chambers of commerce also have their own problems in the abilities to assist enterprises and coordinate with government on behalf of enterprises.Obviously, the Chambers of commerce in Shanghai nowadays are heavily dependent on the government and could not meet the requirement of the city development blueprint. There is still a long way to go to cope up with the international practice. The paper is written in view of finding way out for the further development of the Chambers of Commerce in Shanghai, enabling them to contribute to the city's overall harmonious economic and social development. On the basis of material collections and case studies as well as making comparisons with the mechanisms of the Chambers of commerce in different countries, the paper is aimed at putting forward the personal suggestions on the government policies in guiding towards the sound development of Shanghai's Chambers of Commerce.