China to build green, transparent public procurement market: report

China will make more efforts to streamline public procurement in green sectors and apply digital supervision technologies to create a fair and transparent market environment, according to a report released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) on Friday.

China's public procurement value reached 46 trillion yuan (about 6.37 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2023, dropping 4.16 percent from the previous year amid insufficient effective demand, said the CFLP report.

Public procurement refers to the process by which public authorities, such as government departments or local authorities, purchase work, goods or services from companies.

China has been encouraging public resource trading platforms at all levels to open designated channels to boost the trading of waste products and equipment assets, said the report.

The transaction volume of charging equipment and tools with new energy technologies has increased exponentially. The purchase volume of air conditioners with first-level energy consumption, the greenest level among China's five-tier energy efficiency index, has increased by 11 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the report.

Digital channels in the public procurement sector are also developing rapidly nationwide, the report said, adding that more than 40 percent of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have a digital procurement rate of more than 50 percent, with the rate among central SOEs reaching nearly 90 percent.

"The procurement model of SOEs and central SOEs must first meet the requirements of compliance, as well as positive and guaranteed supply, to achieve the corporate procurement purpose of reducing costs and increasing efficiency through digital procurement forms. The purchaser has no contact with the actual supplier, and quotations, performance, and delivery are isolated from each other for transparency. The price is also supervised by social e-commerce platforms to make the price favorable," said Gao Long, executive director of CFLP Public Procurement Branch.

With the popularization of digital review technologies, digital intelligence application scenarios at government-level will also become more abundant, said CFLP officials.

"Digital technologies have been widely used in public procurement, and the pace of interconnection of public procurement platforms nationwide has been significantly accelerated. The improvements of digital governance capabilities of public procurement platforms are good for creating a fair market environment for both purchasers and suppliers.," said Hu Dajian, assistant to the president of the CFLP.

China to build green, transparent public procurement market: report

A Chinese mainland spokesperson said Lai Ching-te has sent "a dangerous signal" of seeking "Taiwan independence" and making provocations to undermine cross-Strait peace and stability in his speech upon assuming the role of Taiwan region's new leader on Monday.

Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, described Lai's speech as one that stubbornly followed the "Taiwan independence" stance, wantonly advocated separatism, incited cross-Strait confrontation and sought independence by relying on foreign support and by force.

Chen said the mainstream public aspiration on the island is for peace and development, instead of war and recession, while Lai has ignored the public opinion, exposing his nature of being "a worker for Taiwan independence."

The current complex and grave situation across the Strait is rooted in the fact that the Democratic Progressive Party has stubbornly stuck to the separatist stance of "Taiwan independence," rejected the 1992 Consensus that embodies the one-China principle, and kept colluding with external forces to make provocations of seeking "Taiwan independence," Chen said.

Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, said Chen, stressing that "Taiwan independence" and peace across the Strait are incompatible as fire and water.

"We have firm determination to resolve the Taiwan question and realize national reunification; we have strong capabilities to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity; and we will take resolute actions to fight separatist activities seeking 'Taiwan independence' and external interference," he said.

"We will never tolerate any 'Taiwan independence' separatist acts in any form," said Chen.

China must and will be reunified, Chen stressed. No matter how the situation on the island changes and who assumes the regional leader, it will not change the fact that both sides of the Strait belong to one China, or impede the historical trend of national reunification, he said.

"We will fully implement the Party's overall policy for resolving the Taiwan question in the new era, unswervingly uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, work together with Taiwan compatriots to promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and cross-Strait integrated development, and resolutely advance the reunification of the motherland," said Chen.

Mainland says Lai sends "dangerous signal" in speech as Taiwan's new leader