Profile · for international cooperators
China's Supply and Marketing Cooperatives
A single page for cooperative peers and stakeholders abroad: what this system is in law and in practice, how the National Congress, Council and Board of Supervisors govern it, how institutional membership works, what the dual-line mechanism of federation and enterprise means, and where the system stands on business scale, finance and international cooperation. Institutional statements follow the ACFSMC Constitution and the official profile pages; all figures carry their reference year and statistical basis.
One-minute snapshot
Five sentences to place the system
A comprehensive cooperative economic organisation serving agriculture, rural areas and farmers, led by the Communist Party of China. It is neither a government department nor an ordinary corporate group.
The All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives (ACFSMC), the national federation of supply and marketing cooperatives under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, headquartered in Beijing.
Five tiers: primary cooperatives → county, prefectural and provincial federations → ACFSMC. The apex federation operates on institutional (corporate) membership.
Collective ownership. ACFSMC property is collectively owned; its Council acts as owner-representative and manager.
Represents Chinese cooperatives in the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), currently holding an ICA Board seat and the Vice-Presidency for Asia and the Pacific.
Legal character · as stated in the Constitution
What kind of organisation is this
China's supply and marketing cooperatives are defined as a comprehensive cooperative economic organisation serving agriculture, rural areas and farmers under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, with farmer members as its main body, collective ownership as its property basis, and the cooperative principles of voluntary participation, mutual benefit, democracy and equality. The Constitution further sets out the tiers — primary cooperatives, county, prefectural and provincial federations, and ACFSMC — and states that ACFSMC, under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, leads the development of the cooperative undertaking nationwide and holds independent legal personality.
Organisational system
Five federation tiers plus primary cooperatives
Counts of federations, primary cooperatives, farmer cooperatives and enterprises follow the ACFSMC system overview, as at end-2023.
Governance
National Congress → Council → Board of Supervisors
- Convened every five years by the ACFSMC Council
- Reviews and approves the work reports of the Council and the Board of Supervisors
- Adopts or amends the ACFSMC Constitution
- Elects Council members, standing members, vice-chairs and the Chair
- Elects supervisors, vice-chairs and the Chair of the Board of Supervisors
- Executive body between congresses
- Operates under a Chair-responsibility system
- Owner-representative and manager of ACFSMC collective property
- Exercises investor rights and supervises cooperative-owned assets
- Current Chair: Wang Yuyan (also Secretary of the CPC Leadership Group)
- Accountable to and reports to the National Congress
- Monitors implementation of the Constitution, congress resolutions and applicable law
- Monitors how the Council discharges its owner-representative duties
- Includes farmer supervisors and expert supervisors
- Council members and heads of affiliated entities may not serve as supervisors
Membership
Who the members of ACFSMC are
Provincial federations (including those of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and cities with independent planning status), other provincial cooperative economic organisations with independent legal personality, national agriculture-related trade associations, and large agricultural industrialisation leading enterprises may apply. Applicants must accept the Constitution, undertake its obligations, and be approved by the ACFSMC Council.
- Elect or nominate delegates to the National Congress
- Take part in domestic and international activities organised by ACFSMC
- Receive services provided by ACFSMC
- Act in the name of an ACFSMC member federation
- Apply for and monitor use of the Cooperative Development Fund
- Submit comments and proposals on ACFSMC work
- Observe the Constitution and implement resolutions
- Pay member share capital and contributions to the Cooperative Development Fund
- Safeguard the lawful rights of ACFSMC and fellow members
- Carry out tasks entrusted by ACFSMC
- Report on work and relay local conditions
- Accept guidance and supervision from ACFSMC
ACFSMC structure
Three lines: headquarters · enterprises · institutions and associations
- General Office, Research Office, Personnel, Finance & Accounting, Audit Bureau
- Economic Development & Reform, Cooperative Guidance, Financial Services
- International Cooperation, Science-Education & Associations
- Agricultural Inputs, Cotton & Bast Fibre Bureau
- CPC Working Committee, Retired Cadres Dept., Supervisors Office
The federation line: policy-making, system-wide reform and oversight of cooperative-owned assets. A CCDI-NSC discipline inspection and supervision team is also stationed at ACFSMC.
- Sinoagri (China Agricultural Means of Production Group)
- China National Cotton Group; Beijing Cotton Outright Exchange Group
- China Resources Recycling Development
- China Co-op Trade & Circulation Group; China Co-op Agri-Products Group
- China Co-op Cold-Chain Logistics; China Co-op Grain & Oil
- China Co-op E-Commerce (operator of the 832 Platform)
- China Co-op Group Finance Co.; New Co-op Industrial Development Fund
The enterprise line: a wholly ACFSMC-owned holding group that operates national-level commercial assets and supervises its investee companies.
- China Cooperation Times; ACFSMC Management Cadre College; Technology Extension Centre
- Information Centre, Audio-Visual Centre, Printing Centre, Vocational Skills Appraisal Centre
- Research institutes: Jinan Fruit, Hangzhou Tea, Nanjing Wild Plants, Kunming Edible Fungi
- Zhengzhou Cotton & Bast Fibre Engineering, Tianjin Resource Recycling, Beijing Commercial Machinery, Xi'an Lacquer & Coatings
- Associations: cotton, agricultural inputs, tea, fruit, edible fungi, resource recycling, China-ASEAN Agri-Inputs Chamber of Commerce and others
Research, education, media and trade associations supplying technology, standards, talent and industry organisation.
Statutory mandate
The eight duties of ACFSMC
Publicise and implement CPC Central Committee and State Council policies on agriculture, rural areas and farmers; guide the development of the cooperative undertaking nationwide
Formulate national development strategies and plans for supply and marketing cooperatives; guide and serve reform across the system
Organise, coordinate and manage the trade in key agricultural inputs and farm produce as authorised; guide federations in delivering public-interest services entrusted by government
Advance the rule of law in the cooperative sector; propose policy and legislative measures; safeguard the lawful rights of federations at every level
Coordinate with relevant ministries; guide business activities; support e-commerce and rural cooperative finance; initiate and sponsor specialised farmer cooperatives
Guide the operation of cooperative-owned assets, keep cooperative-owned enterprises oriented to farmer service, and discharge asset-supervision duties
Represent Chinese cooperatives in the International Co-operative Alliance and related international organisations
Undertake other tasks assigned by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council
Per the reply of the Central Institutional Organization Commission on the responsibilities and internal structure of ACFSMC (No. 101, 2017). Article 10 of the Constitution sets out twelve functions and tasks along the same lines.
Reading the system · the key mechanism
Separation of federation and enterprise, vertical integration
Led by federation headquarters at each tier: planning, coordinating member federations, developing primary cooperatives, supervising cooperative-owned assets and representing the system externally. It does not trade; it works through guidance, coordination, service, supervision and training.
Carried by cooperative-owned enterprises: they operate independently, bear their own profits and losses, pay taxes, and are responsible for preserving and growing invested assets — while remaining focused on core business and the farmer-service mandate.
The Constitution calls it a dual-line mechanism of separation between federation and enterprise, vertical integration and coordinated operation. Federations hold equity as investors and constrain business direction as industry regulators; enterprises supply the market execution capacity behind the federations' service goals.
Business & services · 2025
Six business and service areas
Socialised agricultural services — farmland trusteeship, plant protection, machinery, drying and more — connecting smallholders to modern agriculture.
Drying, storage, grading and primary processing that raise the value and quality of farm output.
Public-type cold-chain and logistics that reduce losses and keep supply stable.
Wholesale markets form the middle layer of circulation — bulk trade, regional distribution and supply-demand matching.
Supermarket chains, convenience stores, experience stores, livestreaming and e-commerce reach end consumers.
Imports and exports of agricultural inputs and products, linking the system to global markets.
Economic highlights · 2025
Scale and capability
Basis note: these sales cover wholly-owned, controlled, minority-held and open-membership enterprises as well as primary cooperatives and sponsored farmer cooperatives. The basis is broader than consolidated accounts and is not directly comparable with the operating revenue figure above.
Socialised agricultural services
Farmland trusteeship: the 9+N service package
Contract-based farmland trusteeship resolves the tension between fragmented landholdings and economies of scale (delivered by Sinoagri and other providers). Farmers keep their contracted land rights and entrust tilling, sowing, plant protection and harvesting to a service provider — a Chinese route to scale without land transfer.
- Soil testing and formula fertilisation
- Smart fertiliser-blending plans
- Guidance on seed selection
- Unified plant-protection services
- Professional agricultural machinery
- Agricultural-film management
- Agricultural-input supply-chain solutions
- Field-management services
- Cloud-based agricultural service platforms
Circulation system
Logistics → wholesale → retail
Logistics and cold-chain capacity determine whether agricultural services reach downstream markets reliably.
The middle layer of circulation — supporting bulk transactions, regional distribution and supply-demand matching, linking logistics to retail.
Supermarket chains, convenience stores and experience stores plus livestreaming and e-commerce turn upstream service and circulation capacity into direct market reach.
Finance and assets
Where the money comes from, who supervises the assets
Collectively owned; the Council is owner-representative and manager. An Asset Management Committee, acting under Council authorisation, runs a capital-operations budget on a manage-the-capital basis, subject to oversight by the national audit and finance authorities.
Returns on cooperative-owned assets, donations and grants, the Cooperative Development Fund, member share capital, plus state budget appropriations and special funds.
Financed by a share of ACFSMC asset returns, member contributions, state support and social donations; earmarked for building primary cooperatives and farmer services — the institutional channel through which the federation returns resources to the grassroots.
ACFSMC maintains accounting and audit units. The audit unit reviews revenue and expenditure, assets, economic performance and budget execution across ACFSMC and its affiliates, and conducts accountability audits of responsible officers.
Strategic direction · 2026–2030
The 15th Five-Year Plan for Supply and Marketing Cooperatives
Drawn up under the national 15th Five-Year Plan Outline, the plan sets out eighteen priority tasks together with quantified targets for 2030. For readers abroad it is the most direct guide to where the system will invest over the next five years — in agricultural-input supply security, socialised agricultural services, farm-produce circulation, resource recycling and international cooperation.
International cooperation
Four pillars
Represents Chinese cooperatives as an ICA Board member and Vice-President for Asia and the Pacific, deepening practical cooperation with international bodies and national cooperative movements.
Exhibitions, forums and business match-making focused on bilateral trade growth, drawing on both domestic and international markets and resources.
Integration into high-quality Belt and Road cooperation; system-wide import and export business is to grow steadily through the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
Priority expansion into ASEAN, Central Asia, South America and Africa; deeper mutual-benefit cooperation with Global South cooperatives and larger farm-produce imports from South-South partner countries.
- Constitution, Article 10: represent Chinese cooperatives in the ICA and related international organisations, and cooperate with economic organisations, associations, research and education institutions abroad on trade, culture, technology and talent
- An International Cooperation Department sits within ACFSMC headquarters; the China-ASEAN Agri-Inputs Chamber of Commerce is among the supervised associations
- 30+ MOUs with international cooperative apex bodies (including OCB)
- Kazakhstan — Central Asia cooperation case (Sept 2024); ASEAN Cooperative Organization — regional platform case (May 2025)
Three notes for readers abroad
How to compare this with your own movement
ACFSMC is the common shorthand, but the relationship between the apex federation and provincial, prefectural and county federations is not one of parent and subsidiary: member federations own their own assets and bear their own results. ACFSMC works through guidance, coordination, supervision, service and training. Real capital ties exist between each federation and the enterprises it has funded.
The Constitution sets out voluntary, mutually beneficial, democratic and equal cooperative principles and collective ownership, which overlap with ICA cooperative principles. At the same time the system is Party-led, carries out tasks entrusted by government and represents the country in international cooperative affairs. For comparative research this dual character is the most interesting feature, not an inconvenience.
System-wide sales normally cover wholly-owned, controlled and minority-held enterprises, open-membership enterprises, primary cooperatives and sponsored farmer cooperatives — a broader basis than consolidated accounts. Operating revenue and total profit follow a different basis again. Confirm scope and reference year before any cross-country comparison.
Sources
- ACFSMC profile · Statutory mandate (Chinese)
- ACFSMC profile · System overview (Chinese)
- Constitution of ACFSMC, as amended by the 8th National Congress, 25 Nov 2025 (Chinese)
- ACFSMC profile · Organisational structure (Chinese)
- 15th Five-Year Plan for Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, issued 20 Aug 2026 (Chinese)
Institutional and legal content on this page follows the ACFSMC Constitution and the official ACFSMC profile pages; business and scale figures carry their reference year and statistical basis and are for reference only. For authoritative information, please refer to the official website and media of the ACFSMC (chinacoop.gov.cn).