European Commission urges China to make tenders fair and transparent

BEIJING (AFX) – The Chinese government needs to nurture an open, fair and transparent government procurement environment, a European Commission (EC) official said.

‘We hope China will act more systematically on public procurement,’ EC director general Alexander Schaub said at a seminar in Beijing.

‘If the market is open, the best products should win out, with the most efficient use of taxpayers’ money.’

Schaub added that reforms in the tender practice could also help to reduce corruption and money laundering. Schaub said he sees tremendous opportunities for European firms to bid for projects in China with the mainland's economy showing little signs of slowing.

However, he said much work needs to be done in the areas of regulatory reform in China to make both trade with the outside world as well as government procurement practices more consistent and transparent.

Schaub said successful bids by EU firms for major government procurement projects will also be helpful in addressing the growing trade imbalance between the two sides which is in China's favor.

Last year, according to official Chinese statistics, China's trade surplus with the EU reached 64.52 bln usd, while EU figures place the total much higher.