selectshandong@shandong.cn
中 日 한 EN DE FR
SELECTSHANDONG

Shandong Explores Streamlining and Strengthening "Zombie" Industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce

Source：Haibao News 09-08-2026 10:00:00

As a national pilot province for optimizing and restructuring industry associations and chambers of commerce, Shandong has pioneered a simplified deregistration procedure to address major pain points—such as difficult exits, slow deregistration, and the drain on public resources—associated with nearly 1,500 "zombie" and "shell" associations in the province, effectively clearing bottlenecks in industry governance. These associations commonly suffer from unreachable leadership, missing financial records, and a lack of funds for liquidation—issues that have long hindered the establishment of new organizations and bred governance risks.

By innovating and simplifying processes such as internal decision-making, proxy execution of duties, and liability waivers, Shandong has removed obstacles in the deregistration system. As of the end of July this year, 143 associations had successfully completed the simplified deregistration process. Meanwhile, Shandong is implementing the "Four Batches" initiative to consolidate and restructure fragmented and overlapping industry associations. Moving beyond mere physical mergers, this approach achieves a deep integration of resources, functions, and services. Following the consolidation of agricultural associations in Jinan, local specialty products are seeing expanded market reach, while provincial-level associations are joining forces to upgrade services across the entire supply chain. Through this "streamlining and strengthening" approach, Shandong continues to regulate the industry ecosystem and unlock the potential of social organizations to serve the real economy.