New completion rules released for China to optimize the business environment

China on Tuesday unveiled rules on fair competition review in the fields of tendering and bidding process, marking the country’s latest step to further optimize the business environment and promote the construction of a unified national market.

Jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission and other seven central departments, the document requires that within the realm of bidding and tendering, policies and measures must undergo fair competition review before implementation, and any policy measures hindering fair competition are strictly prohibited.

The rules will take effect from May 1st, 2024, according to the document.

NDRC said the rules came as currently, certain bidding and tendering policies still harbor elements such as implicit local protectionism, hindering fair participation among operating entities.

The commission said the rules aim to improve the mechanisms for fair competition review in bidding and tendering and standardize the policy formulation in that field.

The document outlines review requirements and focuses on breaking down transactional barriers across various aspects, including prequalification, evaluation methods, evaluation criteria and bidding criteria.

The document clarifies the main responsibilities of policy-making agencies in conducting fair competition reviews and makes provisions on work mechanisms, work processes, and review conclusions. It emphasizes that policy measures should undergo fair competition review before being submitted for review or approval.

It also requires relevant departments to regularly conduct evaluations and cleanups of policy measures, establish mechanisms for collecting clues about bidding and tendering market barriers, dynamically clean up and abolish various policy measures that violate fair competition, and effectively promote the implementation of the fair competition review system.