CHINA / National

China to prevent corruption in management of foreign aid
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-07-20 08:58

China's Ministry of Commerce has announced a new plan to remove corruption from the management of relief materials and financial aid for foreign countries.

The ministry will release a "Foreign Aid Guidebook" in September so the needy countries can select the materials they want.

Local commerce departments can refer to the guidebook to find suppliers of relief materials and they must make sure a fair bidding process is conducted among the suppliers.

No departments or agencies are allowed to seek illegitimate interests through collusion with bidding companies, it said.

It said that companies involved in foreign aid projects must report to the ministry regularly on the project's progress. A final report should be submitted to the ministry within 20 working days after the project is concluded.

The ministry will evaluate each foreign aid project and penalize those who violate the regulation. The penalty includes a fine of around 30,000 yuan. Enditem