China is stepping up the improvement of its fledgling government procurement mechanism and widening the categories of goods and services through government procurement.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance will work out a draft of the detailed implementing regulations of the Law on Government Procurement by the end of this year, said Zhou Chengyue, vice-director of the State Treasury Department under the ministry.

He said some of the major barriers to reforms of government procurement were trade monopolies and protectionism between regions.

"The implementation of government procurement at the county level leaves much to be desired currently, and my ministry will work out specific rules in the hope of guiding local government procurement," said Zhou at an international forum on purchasing, which was held on October 14 and 15 in Beijing.

"We also urgently need more professionals in the area, with ample experience and knowledge of international practices," he added.

Starting with a pilot survey in selected cities in 1996, the government procurement mechanism is getting increasingly incorporated into China's market economy, bringing about an open, just and fair framework in line with international norms, he said.

China's government procurement has climbed to 100.9 billion yuan (US$12.2 billion) as of last year, compared with 65.3 billion yuan (US$7.9 billion) in 2001.

However, government procurement accounts for quite a small share of China's gross domestic product, with only 0.1 percent in 2002.

(China Daily October 16, 2003)