It's about bidding and tendering! "Guidelines for Fulfilling the Principal Responsibilities of Bidding Parties"

On November 11, eight departments—the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council—jointly released the "Guidance on Fulfilling the Principal Responsibilities of Bidders" (hereafter referred to as the "Guidance"), aimed at urging bidders to take full responsibility, enhance the standardization and scientific approach of tendering and bidding processes, and promote the sustainable and healthy development of China's bidding industry.
 

Screenshot source: National Development and Reform Commission

The "Guidelines" consist of eight chapters and forty-two articles. It states that the tenderer, as the user of state-owned funds or nationally financed capital, must firmly uphold and implement requirements that support technological innovation, conserve energy and resources, protect the ecological environment, and promote the development of small and medium-sized enterprises—measures that align with national economic and social development policy objectives. Moreover, the tenderer bears primary responsibility for ensuring the scientific rigor, legality, and integrity of tendering and bidding activities.

"The Guidance" reads as follows:

Guidelines for Fulfilling the Principal Responsibilities of the Tenderer

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1: To ensure that bidders fulfill their principal responsibilities and to enhance the standardization and scientific approach of tendering and bidding processes, these Guidelines are formulated based on the "Tendering and Bidding Law of the People's Republic of China," the "Implementation Regulations of the Tendering and Bidding Law of the People's Republic of China," and other relevant laws and regulations.

Article 2: This Guidance applies to bidding and procurement activities for projects that are wholly or partially funded by state-owned capital or national financing.

Article 3: The tendering party, as the user of state-owned funds or nationally financed funds, bears primary responsibility for the scientific rigor, legality, and integrity of the bidding and tendering activities.

The tendering party shall establish management mechanisms covering research and decision-making on bidding matters, compliance review, supervision and error correction, performance evaluation, risk prevention and control, to ensure the effective implementation of principal responsibilities.

Article 4: The tendering party shall, in accordance with relevant national regulations, incorporate requirements that support technological innovation, conserve energy and resources, protect the ecological environment, and promote the development of small and medium-sized enterprises—measures that collectively contribute to achieving national economic and social development policy objectives—into tendering and bidding activities.

Article 5: The tendering party shall, according to the requirements of the bidding process, assemble a team of professional personnel, strengthen the training, assessment, motivation, and supervision of these professionals, and build a specialized bidding team.

Article 6: The tendering party and its staff must strictly comply with the local, sector-specific, and institutional regulations regarding the registration and reporting system for inquiries, probes, interference, and intervention in bidding activities, and must firmly resist any form of undue influence on tendering processes. Failure to register and report as required shall result in accountability according to the relevant rules and regulations of the local area, sector, and institution.

Chapter 2: Pre-Bid Preparations

Article 7: For projects falling within the scope and standards specified in the "Regulations on Engineering Projects Required to Undergo Bidding" (National Development and Reform Commission Order No. 16 of 2018), unless statutory exceptions apply, the project procurer shall select the contractor for the project or suppliers of relevant goods and services through a bidding process.

Article 8: Projects that fall within the scope and standards outlined in the "Regulations on Engineering Projects Required to Undergo Bidding" (National Development and Reform Commission Order No. 16 of 2018) may, under the following circumstances, be exempted from bidding as required by law:

(1) Involving national security or state secrets;

(2) Disaster Relief and Emergency Response;

(3) Providing work relief that requires the employment of migrant workers;

(4) Cases requiring the use of irreplaceable patents or proprietary technologies;

(5) The purchaser (including investors who have obtained franchise rights through tendering and bidding) is legally capable of constructing, producing, or providing the goods or services themselves;

(6) It is necessary to procure the engineering works, goods, or services from the original successful bidder; otherwise, it will affect construction or the requirements for functional integration.

(7) Subcontracting or procurement by general contractors (except where included within the scope of the general contract in the form of provisional prices and meeting the statutory thresholds requiring tendering);

(8) Other non-tendering situations as stipulated by the state.

For projects falling under the circumstances listed in the preceding paragraph that require approval or ratification procedures according to the "Regulations on Government Investment" and the "Administrative Regulations on the Approval and Filing of Enterprise Investment Projects," the project entity shall, when submitting the project feasibility study report or the project application, provide a detailed explanation regarding the specific scope and reasons for not conducting a tendering process.

Article 9: For procurement projects that do not fall under the scope requiring mandatory bidding according to law, enterprises or project entities shall comprehensively assess factors such as the project’s technical characteristics, historical transaction data from similar projects, and the competitive landscape among potential bidders. Based on this evaluation of costs, efficiency, and benefits, they should scientifically determine whether to proceed with a tendering process. In principle, projects with high tendering costs or those where effective competition cannot be achieved should not be subject to tendering. For projects that are not tendered, enterprises or project units may choose alternative procurement methods such as inquiry-based comparison purchasing, competitive bidding, negotiation-based purchasing, or direct purchasing to carry out their procurement activities.

Enterprises or project entities may, based on actual conditions, establish specific regulations for project categories and standards that are exempt from tendering.

Article 10: For projects determined to be subject to tendering, the tendering entity shall clearly define the tendering requirements, develop a tendering plan, and specify matters such as the schedule for tendering activities, division of bid sections, technical and commercial criteria, tender performance evaluation, and internal supervision mechanisms—through methods including market research and consultative deliberation.

Article 11: For similar and repetitive bidding projects, the purchaser may, based on the actual needs of the project, adopt methods such as framework agreement bidding or centralized bidding to enhance organizational efficiency and reduce bidding costs.

Article 12: The tendering party shall strengthen the management of its internal institutions and reinforce the supervision and checks-and-balances mechanism. Under no circumstances may the party conduct bidding activities externally in the name of its internal or temporary institutions.

Chapter 3: Bidding and Tendering

Article 13: The tenderer shall, based on the standard tender documents (model text) and in accordance with the tendering plan, prepare high-quality tender documents that clearly outline the technical requirements of the project, qualification review criteria, bid price requirements, evaluation standards, award decision methods, and key terms of the intended contract.

The tendering entity must establish a compliance review mechanism for tender documents, organizing resources to examine whether the documents adhere to mandatory national standards, whether they exclude or restrict potential bidders, and whether the qualification review and evaluation criteria are scientifically sound and reasonable. This ensures that the tender documents are legally compliant, scientifically justified, and fully aligned with actual needs.

Article 14: The tenderer shall comprehensively consider technical aspects, quality, safety factors, as well as the total lifecycle costs of project construction, usage, maintenance, demolition, and renovation, and scientifically select the evaluation method.

For bidding projects that involve a certain level of technical complexity and high quality requirements, the tenderer should adopt the comprehensive evaluation method and reasonably determine the price weighting.

For tender projects with ample supply and intense competition among potential bidders, the tendering entity must clearly define in the tender documents the criteria for identifying "abnormally low bids that may fall below cost or compromise contract performance," as well as the evaluation committee's procedures for handling such bids.

For projects requiring the winning bidder to provide long-term operation, maintenance, updates, upgrades, and other services, the procuring entity shall require bidders to submit quotes based on the comprehensive costs across the entire lifecycle, and shall not allow bids limited solely to individual products or services.

Article 15: The tenderer shall, based on the project characteristics and compliance management requirements, and in conjunction with the following circumstances, clearly specify in the tender documents the abnormal bidding scenarios intended for focused verification:

(1) Situations deemed as bid rigging under laws and regulations;

(2) Bidding documents show unusual consistency;

(3) Abnormally Related Bidding Activities;

(4) Bidding through acquired, leased, or nominally affiliated qualifications; forging or altering qualifications, certification documents, or other permits; and providing false materials such as fabricated performance records, awards, or details of project leaders.

The tenderer shall allow bidders to provide explanations and clarifications to the Evaluation Committee and the tenderer when specifying the particular scenarios outlined in items (ii) and (iii) of the preceding paragraph in the tender documents. If, after verification, the Evaluation Committee or the tenderer discovers that a bidder has engaged in illegal activities such as bid rigging or fraudulent practices, they shall handle the matter in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

The tenderer may specify in the tender documents that bidders exhibiting any of the abnormal bidding scenarios listed in paragraph 1 will be subject to non-refund of their bid security.

Article 16: The tendering party shall, based on the project’s characteristics and specific requirements, publish a tendering plan on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. This plan must include an overview of the tendering project as well as key qualification criteria for bidders, ensuring that potential bidders are fully informed and can prepare their bids accordingly—unless the tender is conducted due to unforeseen emergency circumstances.

For projects involving public interest and receiving significant societal attention, bidders are encouraged to publicly release the tender documents in advance.

Article 17: When the tenderer entrusts a tendering agency to organize and carry out tendering activities, the tendering agency contract must clearly define the business authority, scope, and code of conduct for the agency and its personnel. Additionally, the contract should specify concrete conditions for termination and liabilities for breach of contract in cases where the tendering agency engages in improper behavior.

The tendering party shall oversee the entire process of business operations conducted by the bidding agency, ensuring that the agency carries out its activities in strict compliance with the law.

Article 18: Potential bidders and other stakeholders may raise concerns regarding the content of the tender documents.

If objections are raised, the tenderer shall organize resources to verify and address them promptly. If the tender documents indeed contain unclear wording, practices that exclude or restrict competition, or other illegal or non-compliant issues, the tenderer must promptly revise and improve the documents—and notify all potential bidders who have obtained the tender documents in writing.

When the tenderer entrusts a tender agency to handle objections, it shall review the facts, legal grounds, and handling conclusions provided by the agency, and assume responsibility for the outcome of the resolution.

Article 19: If bidders submit a bid bond (or insurance, etc.) as their bid security, the procuring entity shall verify the authenticity and validity of the bond (or insurance). If the bond (or insurance) is found to be lacking in authenticity or validity, the procuring entity must reject the bid documents, or the Evaluation Committee shall legally disqualify the bid.

The tenderer may specify in the tender documents the detailed methods for verifying the authenticity and validity of the bid bond (insurance).

If the tenderer illegally restricts bidders from using letters of guarantee (insurance) or unlawfully refuses to accept bid documents submitted by bidders who have already provided genuine and valid letters of guarantee (insurance), the relevant administrative supervisory authorities shall impose penalties in accordance with the provisions of the "People's Republic of China Tendering and Bidding Law" regarding the exclusion or restriction of potential bidders.

Chapter 4: Organizing Bid Opening and Bid Evaluation

Article 20: At the time of bid opening, the tendering party shall arrange for bidders or their designated representatives to inspect the sealing or confidentiality status of the bid documents. Alternatively, the tendering party may entrust a notarization agency to conduct the inspection and issue a notarial certificate. Once confirmed to be in order, the staff will proceed to open the envelopes or decrypt the files, then publicly announce the bidder's name, bid price, and other key contents of the bid documents.

Article 21: If a bidder raises an objection during the bid opening process, the procuring entity shall provide an immediate response and prepare a record on the spot.

The tendering party must record the entire bid-opening process and sign to confirm on the bid-opening summary sheet.

Article 22: The tenderer shall actively adopt remote, geographically dispersed bid evaluation and intelligent bid evaluation assistance systems to minimize human intervention in the evaluation process.

Article 23: The tenderer shall assign personnel who are familiar with the project details, knowledgeable about bidding and tendering laws and regulations, and proficient in using electronic evaluation tools to serve as the tenderer's representative, participating in both the pre-qualification review and bid evaluation processes.

Individuals who have a conflict of interest with bidders must not be appointed as representatives of the tendering party.

Article 24: The tendering entity shall ensure that the representative carefully prepares for the evaluation process, thoroughly studies the prequalification documents and tender documents, and fully grasps the qualification review and evaluation criteria, as well as the requirements for identifying and handling abnormally low bids that may fall below cost or jeopardize contract performance, along with the circumstances under which bids will be rejected and the corresponding decision-making procedures.

The representative of the tendering party shall fulfill the following duties during the bid evaluation process:

(1) Fairly and independently review and compare the bid documents;

(2) If any bid evaluation expert is found to have engaged in improper conduct—such as expressing biased opinions, making suggestive remarks, or failing to evaluate bids according to the criteria and methods specified in the tender documents—prompt reminders and劝阻 should be provided, detailed records kept, and the matter reported promptly to both the organization responsible for maintaining the expert database and the relevant administrative oversight authorities.

(3) If a bidder's quotation is found to be abnormal, the evaluation committee should be advised to conduct a thorough review, requesting the bidder to provide clarification and relevant supporting documents. If the bidder fails to offer a reasonable explanation or sufficient proof, the committee should recommend rejecting the bid.

(4) If the bidder is found to have fabricated performance records, falsified qualifications, engaged in bid-rigging or other suspicious illegal activities, the evaluation committee should be recommended to handle the situation according to relevant laws, regulations, and the provisions outlined in the tender documents. If the bid meets the rejection criteria specified in the tender documents, the committee must submit an evaluation opinion recommending that the bid be rejected.

(5) Other responsibilities that the bidder's representatives shall fulfill.

Chapter 5: Calibration

Article 25: Before announcing the shortlisted candidates, the tenderer shall carefully review the written evaluation report submitted by the Evaluation Committee. If any of the following unusual circumstances are identified, the tenderer must request the Evaluation Committee to re-examine the report; and if issues are confirmed, the tenderer should instruct the Evaluation Committee to make necessary corrections.

(1) The evaluation committee failed to conduct the evaluation according to the evaluation criteria and methods specified in the tender documents;

(2) The evaluation committee provides inconsistent scores for objective evaluation criteria, assigning unusually high or low scores, or making calculation errors;

(3) The evaluation committee failed to analyze and assess abnormally low bids that might be below cost or could affect contract performance, as well as severely imbalanced price quotations.

(IV) The evaluation committee failed to notify bidders, as required by law, to provide clarification or explanation;

(5) The evaluation committee failed to reject bids that should have been rejected, or there were instances of arbitrary rejection of bids;

(6) Other instances where the evaluation committee fails to perform its evaluation duties objectively and impartially.

If the tendering party discovers that members of the evaluation committee have engaged in illegal activities that warrant administrative penalties according to law, it shall report the matter to the relevant administrative supervisory authorities and actively cooperate with the departments involved in their investigation and evidence collection.

Article 26: The tenderer bears primary responsibility for the awarding of the contract.

The tenderer shall independently determine the winning bidder from among the candidates recommended by the evaluation committee, based on the criteria and priority order clearly specified in the bidding documents as stipulated by laws and regulations.

The tendering party shall implement full-process recording and traceable management for the bid evaluation activities.

Article 27: During the bid awarding process, if the procuring entity organizes verification of the shortlisted candidates and finds any of the following circumstances, it shall not designate them as the successful bidder:

(1) There exist illegal practices such as falsification, bid rigging, or bid collusion, making the bidder ineligible for winning the contract;

(2) Qualifications, performance records, personnel credentials, creditworthiness, financial status, production conditions, and other factors fail to meet the criteria for winning the bid;

(3) Due to significant changes in operational or financial conditions that may affect its ability to fulfill obligations;

(4) Failure to submit the performance bond as required by the tender documents.

The tenderer, if it finds that a shortlisted candidate falls under any of the circumstances specified in paragraphs (1) and (4) of the preceding article, shall, after thoroughly verifying the facts, have the right to designate another shortlisted candidate as the successful bidder according to laws, regulations, and the tender documents—or, alternatively, to re-tender. Should the tenderer discover that a shortlisted candidate has engaged in illegal activities warranting administrative penalties under the law, it must promptly report the matter to the relevant administrative oversight authorities and actively cooperate with these departments in their investigation and evidence collection efforts.

If the tenderer believes that a shortlisted candidate falls under items (ii) and (iii) of paragraph 1, the original evaluation committee shall review and confirm this according to the criteria and methods specified in the tender documents.

Article 28: During the public announcement period of the successful bidder candidates, if bidders or other stakeholders raise objections, the procuring entity shall handle them as follows:

(1) If the evaluation committee is found to exhibit any of the circumstances listed in Article 25 of this Guidance, the tenderer shall require the evaluation committee to review and rectify the situation.

(2) If the winning candidate is found to fall under any of the circumstances listed in Paragraph 1 of Article 27 of this Guidance, the tenderer shall handle the situation in accordance with Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 27.

The procuring entity shall provide a written response to the objector regarding the outcome within the prescribed time limit. Prior to issuing the response, the entity must suspend the bidding activities. If the objector remains dissatisfied with the response and continues to raise objections based on the same facts and grounds, the entity should clearly inform the objector that further review will no longer be considered. At the same time, the objector should be advised that they may file a complaint with the relevant administrative oversight authorities in accordance with the law.

Article 29: For projects required by law to undergo bidding, the bidder shall conduct a comprehensive self-inspection of the fairness of the entire bidding process during the award decision stage, and submit the results along with a written report on the bidding activities to the relevant administrative supervisory authorities.

Administrative oversight departments are strengthening the fairness review of bid-winning results through random inspections, handling complaints, and other measures.

Article 30: After the bid-winning results are determined, the tendering party shall cooperate with the organization responsible for establishing the expert pool to evaluate the performance of the evaluation experts.

Chapter 6: Contract Performance Management

Article 31: If the tenderer requires the successful bidder to submit a performance bond in the tender documents, it shall promptly ensure that the successful bidder submits the bond in full and on time.

Article 32: After the contract is awarded, the tendering party shall closely monitor and urge the successful bidder to fulfill its contractual obligations, with particular emphasis on the following aspects:

(1) Status of key personnel reporting for duty;

(2) Details of labor, professional, and engineering subcontracting;

(3) Details of Contract Amendments;

(4) Implementation status of the project scope, schedule, quality, and safety as stipulated in the contract;

(5) Other important circumstances during contract performance.

If the successful bidder requests a change in the contract amount exceeding 10% of the original bid-winning contract value, or if the proposed subcontracting amount surpasses the subcontracting limit stipulated in the tender documents by more than 10%, the procuring entity must organize a thorough review of the contractor's performance and conduct a comprehensive analysis to thoroughly assess the necessity and compliance of the proposed contract modifications.

Article 33: If the successful bidder fails to fulfill the contract entered into with the tenderer, the tenderer shall not return the performance bond and may, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations as well as the provisions of the winning bid contract, hold the successful bidder liable for breach of contract.

Article 34: The tendering party shall strengthen the management of bidding and tendering documents, promptly collecting, organizing, and archiving all types of documents, materials, and information data generated during the bidding process, contract execution, and related activities. This includes approval documents for bidding matters, announcements of bidding plans, bidding notices, bidding documents, any amendments to bidding documents, bid submissions, records of the bid opening process, minutes of the evaluation process, evaluation reports, materials reviewed alongside evaluation reports, records of the award decision process, self-assessment reports on the fairness of winning bids, award letters, contract texts, contract amendment details, public announcements, handling of objections, and other relevant documentation. Effective measures must be implemented to ensure the completeness and security of these bidding and tendering documents. The retention period for such documents shall be no less than 15 years.

Article 35: The tenderer may, based on production, operation, and compliance management needs, establish a supplier assessment and evaluation mechanism, standardize the application of assessment results, and urge suppliers to faithfully perform their contractual obligations.

When the tenderer establishes a supplier assessment and evaluation mechanism, it shall publicly disclose the assessment criteria and provide clarification in the tender documents.

Chapter 7: Supervisory Management

Article 36: If the tenderer discovers that bidders, tendering agents, or evaluation experts have engaged in any of the following behaviors, in addition to reporting to the relevant administrative supervisory authorities, the tenderer shall also take legal measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests:

(1) Bidders seeking to win bids through illegal means such as falsification, collusion, or borrowing qualifications;

(2) The bidding agency engages in agency activities in violation of regulations, or privately contacts bidders or potential bidders and colludes with them to harm the interests of the tendering party;

(3) Bid evaluation experts who privately contact, collude with, or fail to perform their bid evaluation duties objectively and impartially—whether with the bidding agency, bidders, or other stakeholders.

For the情形 outlined in item (1) of the preceding paragraph, the tenderer shall, in accordance with relevant regulations and as stipulated in the tender documents, withhold the bid security submitted by the bidder. If the bidder has provided the bid security in the form of a guarantee letter (or insurance policy), the tenderer shall require the institution that issued the guarantee letter (or insurance policy) to fulfill its guarantee obligations. For the情形 outlined in item (2) of the preceding paragraph, the tenderer shall hold the tender agency accountable for compensation. And for the情形 outlined in item (3) of the preceding paragraph, the tenderer shall seek compensation from the evaluation experts involved.

Article 37: Within 30 days after signing the contract with the successful bidder, the tendering party shall conduct a post-evaluation of the entire bidding process to assess its scientific soundness and rationality. This evaluation will analyze any issues or shortcomings identified during the bidding process and enable targeted measures to be implemented for continuous improvement.

Article 38: If the tenderer, in setting criteria for identifying bid rigging or verifying the eligibility of shortlisted bidders, engages in practices such as excluding or restricting potential bidders, or improperly determining the winning bidder, the relevant administrative supervisory authorities shall impose penalties in accordance with the provisions of the "People's Republic of China Tendering and Bidding Law" and the "Implementation Regulations of the People's Republic of China Tendering and Bidding Law." Furthermore, if such actions result in losses to bidders, the tenderer shall bear legal liability for compensation.

Article 39: If the tenderer discovers any suspected illegal activities involving bidders, tendering agencies, evaluation experts, or the Public Resource Trading Center, it shall report the relevant clues to the competent administrative supervisory authorities and cooperate with these authorities in conducting investigations and handling the matter.

Article 40: The fulfillment of the principal responsibilities by the tendering entity shall be regarded as a key component of oversight and management conducted by its superior administrative authority, and may also serve as a reference for supervision activities such as disciplinary inspection, supervision, and auditing. State-owned enterprise tendering entities are required to incorporate the status of fulfilling their principal responsibilities into their overall corporate production and operational accountability framework, and proactively report to the state-owned asset regulatory authorities.

Chapter 8 Supplementary Provisions

Article 41: Each tendering entity may, based on these Guidelines and tailored to its own specific circumstances, formulate detailed implementation rules.

Article 42: These Guidelines shall come into effect on January 1, 2026.

Source: National Development and Reform Commission