Before procuring works, equipment or project services in China, determine which legal regime governs the purchase. The Tendering and Bidding Law and its implementation regulation apply to tendering activity, while mandatory-tender rules depend on the project type, funding, public-interest category and value. Government procurement and concession investor selection may introduce separate or overlapping procedures.
Classification should be documented before packaging or issuing notices. Preserve the approval, funding, scope and value analysis, then align the procurement plan with project approvals, technical readiness, competition requirements and the contract that will be signed after award.
Subject to editorial and legal review. Tender requirements vary by project, funding, sector and locality. Confirm current Chinese texts, thresholds, electronic-platform rules and supervision procedures before launching or challenging a procurement.
Choose the governing procurement route
Classify the buyer, project, funding source, subject matter and estimated value. Distinguish an engineering tender governed by the Tendering and Bidding Law, government procurement, concession investor selection and voluntary commercial tendering. One project may require different analyses for works, goods and services.
Test whether tendering is mandatory
Apply the statutory project categories together with the 2018 mandatory-project and infrastructure/public-utility scope rules and current thresholds. Record aggregation, related packages and the basis for any exemption. Do not divide a project or understate value to avoid a mandatory process.
Plan packages and approvals
Align procurement packages with design maturity, interfaces, schedule, funding and project approval. Confirm any required tender-plan approval or filing, method, platform and supervisory body. A lawful direct award exception should be supported before negotiations begin, not reconstructed after signature.
Prepare qualification requirements
Use criteria proportionate to the contract’s real technical, financial, licensing, safety and performance risks. Avoid local registration, ownership, irrelevant awards, excessive turnover or other conditions that exclude competitors without legal or project justification. The 2024 fair-competition review rules target policy and tender barriers.
Draft the tender documents
Define scope, technical requirements, price structure, schedule, securities, evaluation method, key personnel, subcontracting, acceptance and proposed contract terms. Identify all substantive response requirements and avoid undisclosed scoring. Brand or origin references should allow lawful equivalents unless a justified exception applies.
Notice, clarification and amendments
Publish through the required channel and allow the prescribed time. Give material clarifications and amendments consistently to participants and extend deadlines where required. Preserve the complete issued set, questions, answers, site visits and receipt records.
Bid preparation and submission
Bidders should verify authority, licenses, consortium terms, securities, signatures, pricing, deviations and submission mechanics. Control affiliates, subcontractors and third-party evidence. Never coordinate price, allocate markets, borrow qualifications, falsify performance or obtain confidential competitor information.
Opening and evaluation
Follow the disclosed time, place, committee composition, criteria and method. Record conflicts, recusals, opening results, clarifications, scoring and recommendations. Clarification must not become an undisclosed opportunity to alter the bid’s substantive content or negotiate selectively.
Award and contract formation
Issue and publish the award as required, observe challenge periods, and sign the written contract consistently with the tender and winning bid. Side agreements that change price, scope, quality, term or other substantive award conditions create enforceability and regulatory risk.
Guarantees, pricing and performance
Coordinate bid, performance, advance-payment and warranty securities with the final contract. Check pricing adjustment, provisional sums, taxes, measurement, payment and change mechanisms. Procurement compliance does not eliminate later construction-law, quality, safety or payment duties.
Objections, complaints and evidence
Identify whether an objection to the purchaser or a complaint to the competent supervisory authority is required, and calculate the short procedural deadline from the relevant event. State the requested remedy and preserve standing, tender documents, submissions, notices, platform data and proof of delivery.
Invalidity, enforcement and remediation
Assess the specific breach, its effect on competition or award, the project’s status and available administrative, civil or disciplinary consequences. Do not assume every defect produces the same remedy. Consider corrective procurement, contract impact, damages, reporting and continuity together.
Working-file checklist
- Project approval, funding source and mandatory-tender analysis.
- Package values, aggregation and exemption memorandum.
- Procurement plan, method and authority approvals.
- Announcement, qualification and tender documents.
- Clarifications, amendments, site visits and communications.
- All bids, securities and submission evidence.
- Opening, committee, conflict and evaluation records.
- Award notice, publication and challenge chronology.
- Signed contract and consistency comparison.
- Complaint, investigation and remediation file.
Official sources
- Xilingol Government: Tendering and Bidding Law
- National Administrative Regulations Database: Tendering and Bidding Law Implementation Regulation
- National Development and Reform Commission: Mandatory Tendering Project Provisions
- National Development and Reform Commission: Guidance on the Mandatory Tender Scope
- National Development and Reform Commission: 2024 Fair Competition Review Rules for Tendering
Law checked: September 11, 2026. Current official Chinese texts, sector and local rules, thresholds, tender documents and supervisory directions control.
