On July 15, 2022, the Ministry of Finance solicited public opinions on the revised Government Procurement Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft for comments) (hereinafter referred to as “the Draft”). The call-for-comment period will end on 14 August 2022. In essential, as the scale of government procurement continues to expand, the revision of the law is to further amplify positive impacts of government procurement behaviors on socioeconomic development.

The following contentis is a summary of key points in the Draft:

1. Supporting domestic industry. The Draft requires government procurement to prioritize domestically produced goods as well as engineering projects and services unless they are unavailable at a reasonable commercial condition in China. At the same time, domestic products can enjoy preferential treatment if they meet specified conditions such as added value ratio. The domestic goods mentioned in the Draft also include goods manufactured in China by foreign-invested enterprises. As to the imported goods, on the other hand, the Draft tends to constrict their requirement. Specifically, for public hospitals, whether their procurement of medical devices is subject to the requirement of the procurement law is still in gray zone area.