Beijing Revises Purchasing Policies
Proving that the Chinese government does listen to the concerns of foreign companies, on April 13, 2010 the Ministry of Science and Technology of China published the draft of a series of new rules on government procurement and deleted the most controversial provision from an earlier version.
The removed clause said any firm selling high-tech goods must hold the Chinese intellectual property rights for them to be included in a purchasing catalogue and the intellectual property rights of applicants should be completely independent from overseas organizations or individuals. That meant that products without Chinese intellectual property would not be able to enter the procurement market, which is reportedly worth billions of U.S dollars each year.
Western firms welcome China’s revised purchasing policy. The European Chamber of Commerce in China praised the revision, saying that it is an important sign that policy makers in China recognize the role that fair competition plays in developing and enhancing China’s high-tech capabilities.
By Jeesun Kim
