The Ministry of Culture is established as a department under the State Council responsible for the administration of China’s cultural and artistic affairs.

The main responsibilities of the ministry are: making guidelines for cultural and art-related policies and principles, drafting cultural and art-related laws and regulations; guiding the reform of cultural system, administrating cultural and artistic industry, directing the artistic creation and production, supporting representative, model and experimental arts and cultural works, administrating important national cultural activities, responsible for the planning and guidance of the construction of key national cultural facilities, making guidelines for cultural market development plans, guiding comprehensive law enforcement in cultural markets, exercising supervision over cultural and art-related commercial operations, as well as supervising the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.