New Chinese government procurement programme to increase savings

China will implement a programme that will open the evaluation process of government procurement to the purchaser and supplier and increase the transparency of its central government procurement centre.

This will build on the US$2.12 billion the country saved over the last five years since implementing a centralised government procurement centre.

Under the pilot programme, all suppliers will be checked and their names made public for external supervision. The centre will also develop and build an online bidding system.

The move came after the country spent US$10.4 billion in government procurement by all central government departments in the past five years, or the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) period, according to figures provided by the centre.

During the period, China introduced in all central government departments the centralised government procurement practice that helped save the public funds.

In China, government procurement has attracted public scrutiny because it is considered prone to corruption.

The National Bureau of Corruption Prevention will step up its efforts to oversee government procurement this year, said Cui Hairong, deputy chief of the bureau.

In addition, the country has included the buying of official vehicles in centralised government procurement to address concerns that there might be abuse of public funds connected with official vehicles.

The country also adhered to the policy of energy saving in centralized government procurement, making it mandatory for departments to buy energy-saving products and to give priority to environmentally friendly products.

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