Tighter Rules for Gov't Contracts Released

(Beijing) – In a bid to improve transparency in the trillion-yuan business of public procurement, China announced new rules on bidding for government contracts.

On June 11, the Ministry of Finance issued a notice that revised rules on public procurement. For every contract, deliberations on government contracts by central and provincial-level authorities must now be videotaped. Several other stipulations, including the surrendering of personal cell phones during bid reviews, are also included in the rules.
In China, bidding processes are usually opaque, and every year dozens of scandals involving conflict of interest, fraud and bribery arise.