Survey highlights opaque govt procurement

BEIJING - A survey of government procurement prices showed that nearly 80 percent of surveyed products were purchased at a price much higher than market price, indicating irregularities in government procurement.

The survey was conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Guangdong, Heilongjiang, Jiangxi and Fujian provinces. The survey results were issued Monday.

Of 19,020 surveyed products, mainly office utilities, 15,190 were purchased at a price higher than market price, the survey showed.

For instance, 18 million yuan ($2.88 million) was spent on 2,098 laptops, but only 13.73 million yuan would've been needed if they were purchased at market price.

China's government procurement law states that government procurement prices must be lower than the average market price.

Tian He, head of the survey team and a researcher with the CASS, said a lack of transparency and high procurement prices will invite public suspicion.

The volume of government procurement surged from 100.9 billion yuan in 2002 to 1.13 trillion yuan in 2011, according to the survey.