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China has issued a guideline on Friday requiring all provincial-level governments and departments to fully ensure equal treatment for domestic and foreign-invested enterprises in government procurement according to relevant laws. This was a follow-up to a notice regarding the implementation of domestic product standards and related policies for government procurement, released in September, which was scheduled to enter into force from January 1, 2026.

This ensures products from foreign-invested enterprises meeting national standards can participate equally in government procurement activities, which indicates that China is continuously improving its business environment for all companies and is committed to further opening-up, analysts pointed out.

National treatment for foreign firms in government procurement was mandated in the Friday suggestion jointly published by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in order to accelerate the establishment of a unified, open and competitive government procurement market system.

Any practices specifying brands, restricting based on registration location, ownership, organizational form, equity structure, investor nationality, or other unreasonable conditions that discriminate against suppliers must be rigorously addressed in accordance with the law, read the guideline.

The guideline was a follow-up of a September policy - notice regarding the implementation of domestic product standards and related policies for government procurement released by the State Council.

A State Council executive meeting stated that the notice "represents a practical step in implementing China's policy of equal treatment for domestic and foreign-funded enterprises in the government procurement sector," according to the Xinhua News Agency.

China had been adhering to its opening-up policy and provided opportunities for foreign companies in government procurement. In June 2024, according to a published "framework agreement" for the new-energy vehicle procurement by Jiangsu provincial government departments, Tesla's Model Y was included in the purchase list, for the first time that Tesla was included in government procurement, the company later confirmed with the Global Times.

Global Times