(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-23 08:11

BEIJING -- The Chinese government is to establish a credit record system and blacklist individuals and organizations found committing illegal practices in government procurement.

Qu Wanxiang, vice minister of supervision, announced the measure on Tuesday in a tele-conference held by the finance and supervision ministries, the National Audit Office and the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention.

Qu, also deputy head of the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention, said the blacklisted individuals and companies would be banned from trading.

The four departments announced the launch of a special nationwide survey of government procurement from May to September to uncover illegal practices.

Embezzlement and bribery by companies submitting tenders for government contracts would be the focus of the survey, said Qu.

Governmental leaders who interfered procurement to seek personal gains and individuals who attempted to manipulate tenders for government contracts would be publicly named and seriously punished, he added.

The vice minister proposed a working mechanism to monitor the whole process of government procurement, which would involve auditing.

The survey asks governments to carry out self-inspections for illegal practices before the four departments dispatch special inspection groups who will inspect government organs and commercial agents commissioned to deal with the procurement.

The Chinese government has increased procurement spending since 2002. Governments at various levels spent more than 400 billion yuan (57.1 billion U.S. dollars) in purchasing equipment and fixed assets in 2007.

Financial Minister Xie Xuren said at the conference that supervision of government procurement during 2002 and 2007 had saved more than 180 billion yuan (25.7 billion U.S. dollars) from the financial budget.

The scope of Chinese government procurement has been widely expanded from substantial items to engineering projects and a wide range of services in recent years.

Xie admitted that many practices in government tendering were yet to meet the standards of China's Law on Government Procurement which was enacted in 2003.