1. The latest revisions to China’s Government Procurement Law and Tendering and Bidding Law go beyond procedural rules, aiming to build a unified national market and promote high-quality economic and social development, providing stronger legal support for fair competition. [para. 1]
2. Draft amendments were submitted for first review at the 23rd session of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee and posted online for a one-month public comment period. Both laws have been in effect for over two decades and have played a key role in market economy building, fiscal spending management, and project quality assurance. [para. 2]
3. The draft revision to the Government Procurement Law adds the goal of “promoting the construction of a unified national market and serving high-quality economic and social development,” embedding the law in the broader framework of fair competition. [para. 3]
4. The draft revision to the Tendering and Bidding Law adds language such as “serving national economic and social development,” similarly linking the field to the unified national market and high-quality development. [para. 4]
5. The two laws are closely connected: government procurement often uses tendering and bidding, so it must comply with both laws. [para. 5]
6. Official data show government procurement scale grew from 100.96 billion yuan ($14.87 billion) in 2002 to 3.3 trillion yuan in 2025, with its GDP share rising from 0.8% to 2.4%, and cumulative fiscal savings reaching 4.7 trillion yuan. [para. 6]
7. With rapid economic development, illegal practices such as bid-rigging, collusive bidding, discriminatory clauses, and disorderly low-price competition have occurred. Rules remain incomplete, policy functions are underutilized, and whole-process management needs improvement, revealing institutional gaps. [para. 7]
8. The revision of the Tendering and Bidding Law targets corruption prevention, consolidation of reform gains, and balancing fairness with efficiency. Key starting points include “striving to build a fair competitive environment” and “providing institutional support for a unified national market.” [para. 8]
9. The draft Government Procurement Law defines duties of all parties and strengthens the primary responsibility of purchasers. For example, it tightens requirements for evaluation committees, mandating professional ethics, confidentiality, and independent evaluation based on objective and prudent principles. [para. 9][para. 10]
10. The draft also clarifies that individuals bear legal responsibility for their own evaluation opinions. The Tendering and Bidding Law requires open bidding announcements to be published through state-designated media, enhancing transparency to eliminate rent-seeking opportunities. [para. 11]
11. Both drafts strengthen fair competition. Article 6 of the Government Procurement Law guarantees equal participation for all business entities, prohibiting illegal restrictions on suppliers entering any regional or industry market. [para. 12]
12. The Tendering and Bidding Law adds that bidders may not be illegally restricted by ownership form, organization, or scale, and prohibits illegal interference. Administrative agencies must undergo a fair competition review when formulating measures affecting business operations, and must clean up rules violating fair competition. [para. 13][para. 14]
13. Integration with new technologies raises the digital level of procurement and bidding. The Government Procurement Law adds a special chapter on digitalization, encouraging electronic procurement platforms and use of big data, cloud computing, blockchain, and artificial intelligence (AI). [para. 15][para. 16]
14. The Tendering and Bidding Law promotes application of modern technologies and unified national standards for electronic tendering and bidding. [para. 17]
15. The emphasis on intelligence and digitalization shows the revisions keep pace with the times, but technology is ultimately operated by people, so professional team building in administrative and judicial departments remains a priority. [para. 18]
16. Revising these laws consolidates reform achievements, promotes a unified national market, and adapts to high-quality development. Fully leveraging synergy between the two laws and enforcing them effectively will raise legal standards in both fields. [para. 19]
AI generated, for reference only
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