Europeans slam China gov't procurement practices
EU China
(BEIJING) - The European Union Chamber of Commerce has accused China of trade protectionism for refusing to grant EU companies a level playing field in the lucrative government procurement market.
China responded Thursday by insisting that the government followed the principles of "justice, fairness and openness" in bidding on government procurement, but admitted its system had some "defects."
In a report released Wednesday, the EU chamber urged China to increase transparency in the bidding process and ensure the fair evaluation of contract tenders.
"Currently European companies are barred from much of this estimated one trillion US dollar market through poor implementation of overlapping regulations," chamber president Jacques de Boisserson said in a statement.
"It is vital that this enormous market be regulated in a transparent and non-discriminatory way."
The chamber said barriers keeping EU companies out of the market included a lack of clarity on bid criteria and an unsatisfactory appeals process.
Such barriers give Chinese companies an unfair advantage over foreign enterprises seeking to bid for government contracts, said the report, which was based on surveys of many top EU companies working in China.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei acknowledged that the procurement mechanism was still in its infancy and had some shortcomings, such as still being "relatively small-scale" compared to Western countries.
"But the Chinese government procurement still follows the principles of justice, fairness and openness," he said.
The government procurement market is just one bone of contention for foreign firms in China, who have increasingly complained about what they see as unfair treatment over the past year.
China's Western trading partners accuse it of making it difficult for foreign companies to operate in the country. Beijing, though, has been vocal in its opposition to protectionism and denies it puts up investment barriers.
Public Procurement Study: European Business Experiences Competing for Public Contracts in China