New govt procurement program to increase savings

BEIJING - China will continue to increase the transparency of its central government procurement this year after the country saved 10.9 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) by implementing centralized government procurement during the past five years.

The country will launch a pilot program to open the evaluation process of government procurement to the purchaser and supplier, reported People's Daily on Tuesday, quoting Chen Jianming, director of the central government procurement center.

Under the pilot program all suppliers will be checked and their names made public for external supervision, said Chen. The center will also develop and build an online bidding system, he added.