Laws & Regulations

CHAPTER I — GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Article 1.  This Law is formulated for the purposes of regulating invitation to and submission of bids, protecting State interests, public interests and the lawful rights and interests of the parties involved in the bidding process, improving economic efficiency, and ensuring project quality.

Article 2.  The activities of invitation to and submission of bids within the territory of the People's Republic of China shall be governed by this Law.

Article 3.  Bids shall be invited for the following project construction items undertaken within the People's Republic of China, including surveying, design, construction, supervision and management of the project, as well as the purchase of important equipment and materials for the project construction:

(1) large scale infrastructure or public utility projects and other projects relating to the public interest of society or public security;

(2) projects wholly or partly utilising State-owned capital or State funds; and

(3) projects utilising loan or aid funds provided by international organisations or foreign governments.

The specific scope and scale criteria for the projects listed in the preceding paragraph shall be formulated by the development and planning department of the State Council jointly with other relevant departments of the State Council, and shall be ratified by the State Council.

Where the laws or the State Council stipulates the scope of other projects required to call bids, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 4.  No organisation or individual shall evade bidding requirements for a project required by law to call bids, by breaking up a project into parts or by any other means.

Article 5.  The invitation to and submission of bids shall adhere to the principles of transparency, equitableness, fairness and honesty.

Article 6.  Where a project is required by law to call bids, the invitation to and submission of bids shall not be subject to geographical or departmental restrictions. No organisation or individual shall unlawfully restrict or exclude legal persons or other organisations outside a particular region or system from participating in the submission of bids, or unlawfully interfere in any manner with the bidding process.

Article 7.  The activities of invitation to and submission of bids and the parties involved shall accept supervision pursuant to the law.

The relevant administrative authorities shall supervise the invitation to and submission of bids, and shall investigate and deal with the illegal acts during the bidding process pursuant to the law.

The State Council shall specify the administrative supervision of the invitation to and submission of bids and the specific purview of the relevant authorities.

CHAPTER II — INVITATION FOR BIDS

Article 8.  The bid inviter is the legal person or an organisation that proposes the bids project and invite bids pursuant to this Law.

Article 9.  Where a bidding project is required by the relevant State regulations to complete project examination and approval formalities, the project examination and approval formalities shall be completed to obtain approval in advance.

The bid inviter shall ensure availability of funds or have the relevant funds in place to carry out the bidding project, and shall disclose so fully in the bid invitation documents.

Article 10.  Invitations for bids are classified either as open invitation for bids or private invitation for bids.

An open invitation for bids is an invitation for bids made by a bid inviter to unspecified legal persons or other organisations by way of a notice of invitation for bids.

A private invitation for bids is an invitation for bids made by a bid inviter in written form to specified legal persons or other organisations.

Article 11.  For a key State project confirmed by the development and planning department of the State Council or a key local project confirmed by the people's government of a province, autonomous region or centrally administered municipality is not suitable for open invitation for bids , A private invitation for bids  may be conducted upon approval by the development and planning department of the State Council or by the people's government of a province, autonomous region or centrally administered municipality.

Article 12.  A bid inviter is entitled to select a bidding agency on its own, and entrust the bidding agency with bidding matters. No organization or individual may designate by any means a bidding agency to act for the bid inviter.

A bid inviter with the ability to draw up the bidding documents and to organise the evaluation of bids shall handle the bidding matters of its own accord; No organization or individual may compel a bid inviter to appoint a bidding agency to handle the bidding matters.

For a project required by law to call for bids, where the bid inviter handles the bidding matters on its own, it shall file with the relevant administrative supervising authorities.

Article 13.  A bidding agency is a social intermediary organisation established pursuant to the law that undertakes bidding agency work and provides associated services.

A bidding agencies hall satisfy the following criteria:

(1) have a business location and sufficient capital to undertake bidding agency work; and

(2) have sufficient professional expertise to enable it to draw up bidding documents and organise the evaluation of bids .

Article 14.  Bidding agencies shall not maintain any subordinate relationship or any other relationship of interest with any administrative or other State agency.

Article 15.  A bidding agency shall handle the bidding matters within the scope of the authority conferred on it by the bid inviter, and shall comply with the provisions of this Law on bids -inviting parties.

Article 16.  Where a bid inviter conducts an open invitation for bids, it shall publish a notice of invitation for bids. The notice of invitation for bids for a project required by law to invite bids shall be published in the publications, information networks and other media designated by the State.

A notice of invitation for bids shall contain details including the name and address of the bid inviter, the nature and size of the bidding project, the place and time for carrying out the project and details of how to obtain the bidding documents.

Article 17.  Where a bid inviter conducts a private invitation for bids, it shall issue a written invitation for bids to more than three legal persons or other organisations which are capable of undertaking the bidding project and have good credit standing.

A written invitation for bids shall contain the details stipulated in second paragraph of Article 16 of this Law.

Article 18.  A bid inviter may, in accordance with the requirements of the bidding project, request prospective bidders to submit documents attesting to their relevant qualifications and business performance in its notice of invitation for bids or written Invitation for bids, and examine the qualifications of prospective bidders; where the qualifications of bidders are regulated by the State, such regulations shall prevail.

A bid inviter shall not restrict or exclude potential bidders on unreasonable terms, and shall not discriminate against potential bidders.

Article 19.  A bid inviter shall draw up bidding documents in accordance with the features and requirements of a bidding project. The bidding documents shall contain all the substantive requirements and criteria for bids such as the technical requirements for the bidding project, the examination standard of the bidder's qualification, the price quotation requirements, and the criteria for the evaluation of bids, and shall also contain the main terms of the proposed contract.

Where the technology or standards for a bidding project are regulated by the State, the bid inviter shall state the relevant requirements in the bidding documents pursuant to such regulations.

Where a bidding project is required to be divided into stages and with fixed completion periods, the bid inviter shall fix such stages and completion periods reasonably, and state so clearly in the bidding documents.

Article 20.  The bidding documents shall not require or indicate specified producers or suppliers, and shall not include any other requirement that favours or excludes any prospective bidders.

Article 21.  A bid inviter shall, in accordance with the specific circumstances of the bidding project, arrange for prospective bidders to inspect the project site.

Article 22.  A bid inviter shall not divulge to a third party the names or number of prospective bidders  who have received bidding documents, or any other information relating to the invitation to or submission of bids  which will affect fair competition.

Where a bid inviter imposes a minimum bid limit, this limit shall be kept confidential.

Article 23.  Where a bid inviter seeks to make necessary clarifications or amendments to bidding documents that have been issued to prospective bidders , the bid inviter shall notify all recipients in writing of the clarifications or amendments to bidding documents, at least 15 days prior to the closing date for submission of bids  stipulated in the bidding documents. The contents of such clarifications or amendments comprise part of the bidding documents.

Article 24.  The bid inviter shall specify a reasonable time for bidders to prepare and submit bidding documents; however for a project required by law to call for bids, the period from the date of issue of bidding documents to the closing date for submission of bids shall not be less than 20 days.

CHAPTER III — SUBMISSION OF BIDS

Article 25.  A bidder is a legal person or other organisation which participates in the competitive bids in response to an invitation for bids.

Where individuals are permitted to participate in bidding pursuant to the law for scientific research projects, individual bidders shall be governed by the provisions of this Law on bidders.

Article 26.  A bidder shall possess the capability to undertaking the bidding project. Where the qualification criteria for bidders are imposed either by State regulations or the terms of bidding documents, a bidder shall satisfy such criteria.

Article 27.  A bidder shall prepare its bid in accordance with the requirements of the bidding documents. The bid shall respond to the substantive requirements and conditions of the bidding documents.

Where a bidding project is related to construction work, the bid shall include the resume of the person-in-charge and main technical personnel to be assigned to the project, business performance, and a list of machinery and equipment to be used in completing the bidding project.

Article 28.  Bidders shall deliver their bids to the stipulated place, before the deadline for submission of bids stipulated in the bidding documents. Upon receipt of a bid, the bid inviter shall acknowledge receipt by signature and retain the bid without opening it. Where there are less than three bidders, the bid inviter shall call for a new bid pursuant to this Law.

A bid inviter shall not accept any bid delivered after the deadline for submission of bids stipulated by the bid.

Article 29.  A bidder may supplement, amend or withdraw its bid before the deadline for submission of bids, and shall notify the bid inviter in writing. The content of any supplement or amendment shall form part of the bid.

Article 30.  Where a bidder plans to subcontract any non-core or ancillary elements of the bidding project in accordance with the practical circumstances of the project as stated in the bid, it shall state so in its bid.

Article 31.  Two or more legal persons or other organisations may form a consortium to bid jointly as one bidder.

Each member of a consortium shall have the relevant capability to undertake the bidding project; where the qualification criteria for bidders are imposed either by State regulations or terms of the bidding documents, each member of a consortium shall satisfy the corresponding qualification criteria. Where a consortium comprises organisations within the same field of expertise, the consortium's level of qualification shall be determined in accordance with the consortium member with the lower level of qualification.

The consortium members shall each sign a joint bidding agreement to clearly specify the work and responsibilities to be undertaken by each party, and submit the joint bidding agreement to the bid inviter together with the bid. Where a bid is awarded to a consortium, the consortium members shall contract jointly with the bid inviter and assume joint and several liability for the bidding project towards the bid inviter.

The bid inviter shall not compel bidders to form a consortium for the purposes of submitting a joint bid, and shall not restrict competition between bidders.

Article 32.  Bidders shall not collude in relation to the quoted price, and shall not force out other bidders from fair competition, or infringe the lawful rights and interests of the bid inviter or other bidders.

A bidder shall not collude with the bid inviter to the detriment of State interests, the public interest of society or the lawful rights and interests of any other person.

A bidder shall not bribe the bid inviter or any member of the bid evaluation committee in order to win the bid.

Article 33.  A bidder shall not adopt fraudulent means such as bidding at a below-cost bid price or bidding under the name of another person to win the bid.

CHAPTER IV — OPENING, EVALUATION AND AWARDING OF BIDS

Article 34.  Opening of bids shall be conducted publicly on the closing date for submission of bids stipulated in the bidding documents; bids shall be opened at the venue stipulated in advance in the bidding documents.

Article 35.  The bid inviter shall preside over and invite all the bidders to attend the opening of bids.

Article 36.  At the opening of bids, the bidders or their chosen representative shall check if the bids are sealed, or the bid inviter may entrust a notary organisation to check and notarise; upon confirmation that there is no irregularity, a staff member shall open the documents on the spot and announce the name and bid price of the bidder and other important information contained in the bid.

All bids received by the bid inviter prior to the deadline for submission of bids stipulated in the bid  shall be publicly opened and read at the opening of bids.

The procedures undertaken in the opening of bids shall be recorded and filed for future reference.

Article 37.  The bid evaluation committee formed pursuant to the law by the bid inviter shall be responsible for evaluation of bids.

For a project required by law to invite bids, the bid evaluation committee shall comprise representatives of the bid inviter, and technical, economic and other experts; the committee shall comprise an odd number of at least five members, among which at least two-thirds of the members shall be technical, economic or other experts.

The experts referred to in the preceding paragraph shall have experience of at least eight years in the relevant field and hold a high-ranking professional title or have obtained an equivalent level of expertise, and shall be selected from the lists of experts maintained by relevant departments of the State Council or the People's Government of the province, autonomous region or centrally administered municipality, or from the lists compiled by bidding  agencies of experts in the relevant field within their pool of experts; for ordinary bidding projects, experts shall be randomly selected; for special bidding projects, experts shall be directly selected by the bid inviter .

Any person with an interest in a bidder shall not sit on the bid evaluation committee for the project concerned; a committee member who already sits on such the bid evaluation committee shall be replaced.

The names of members of the bid evaluation committee shall be kept confidential until the award of the bid has been confirmed.

Article 38.  The bid inviter shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the evaluation of bids is conducted in strict confidence.

No organization or individual may unlawfully interfere with or influence the process or outcome of the evaluation of bids.

Article 39.  The bid evaluation committee may require a bidder to make any necessary clarifications or explanations where any contents of a bidding document are unclear; however the clarifications or explanations shall not exceed the scope of the original bid or alter its substantive content.

Article 40.  The bid evaluation committee shall conduct the evaluation and comparison of bids in accordance with the criteria and methods for the evaluation of bids set out in the bid ; where a minimum bid limit is set by the bid inviter, it shall be referred to. After the evaluation of bids is completed, the bid evaluation committee shall provide a bid evaluation report in writing to the bid inviter, and recommend a qualified candidate for the award of the bid.

The bid inviter shall determine a successful bidder on the basis of the written the bid evaluation report and the candidates recommended by the bid evaluation committee. The bid inviter may also authorise the bid evaluation committee to directly select a successful bidder.

Where the State Council stipulates on the evaluation of bids for particular bidding projects, the provisions shall prevail.

Article 41.  A successful bid shall satisfy one of the following criteria:

(1) the bid is able to satisfy to the greatest extent each of the composite appraisal standards stipulated in the bid ; or

(2) the bid is able to satisfy the substantive requirements of the bid  and is the lowest evaluated bid price, excluding any bid price that is below cost.

Article 42.  Following the evaluation of bids, the bid evaluation committee may reject all of the bids submitted if it is satisfied that none of the bids complies with the requirements for bids.

Where all bids submitted are rejected for a project required by law to invite bids, the bid inviter shall make a refresh invitation for bids pursuant to this Law.

Article 43.  Before determining a successful bidder, the bid inviter shall not enter into negotiations with the bidder regarding bid price, a bid proposal or any other substantive matter.

Article 44.  Members of the bid evaluation committee shall perform their duties objectively and impartially, abide by professional ethics, and bear personal responsibility for their evaluative opinions.

Members of the bid evaluation committee shall not make private contact with any bidder, and shall not accept any material or other benefit from a bidder.

Members of the bid evaluation committee and staff members involved in the bid evaluation process shall not divulge any information relating to the evaluation and comparison of bids and the recommendation of candidates, or any other information related to the evaluation of bids.

Article 45.  Following the determination of the successful bidder, the bid inviter shall issue a bid acceptance letter to the successful bidder, and shall simultaneously notify all unsuccessful bidders of the result of the bidding.

The bid acceptance letter is binding in law on both the bid inviter and the successful bidder. After the issue of bid acceptance letter, where the bid inviter alters the result of the bidding or the successful bidder repudiates the bidding project, the party in default shall bear legal liability pursuant to the law.

Article 46.  The bid inviter and the successful bidder shall conclude a written contract in conformity with the terms of the bid and the successful bid within 30 days from the issue of bid acceptance letter. The bid inviter and the successful bidder shall not conclude any other agreement that is contrary to the substantive contents of the contract.

Where the bidding document requires the successful bidder to lodge a security bond, the successful bidder shall do so as required.

Article 47.  Where a project is required by law to call for bids, the bid inviter shall provide to the relevant administrative department a written report on the invitation to and submission of bids, within 15 days from determination of the successful bidder.

Article 48.  The successful bidder shall carry out its obligations and complete the bidding project in accordance with the contract. The successful bidder shall not transfer the bidding project to a third party, and shall not break up the bidding project and transfer parts of the project to third parties.

The successful bidder may subcontract non-core or ancillary elements of the bidding project to third parties in accordance with the contract or with consent of the bid inviter. Subcontractor shall comply with the relevant qualification criteria, and shall not further subcontract the work.

The successful bidder shall be accountable to the bid inviter for the subcontracted work, and the subcontractor assumes joint and several responsibility for the subcontracted work.

CHAPTER V — LEGAL LIABILITY

Article 49.  Where any party violates the provisions of this Law by failing to invite bids for a project required by law to call for bids, or evading bidding requirements by breaking up a project into parts or by any other means, that party shall be ordered to rectify the situation within a specified period and shall be fined an amount ranging from 0.5% to 1% of the project contract price. Where a project wholly or partly utilises State funds, the project may be temporarily suspended or payment of funds may be temporarily halted; the person-in-charge within an organisation or any other person directly responsible for the violation shall be punished pursuant to the law.

Article 50.  Any bidding agency  which violates the provisions of this Law, by divulging any confidential information relating to the invitation to or submission of bids , or by collaborating with a bid inviter  or bidder  to harm the State interests, public interest or the lawful rights and interests of any third party, shall be liable to a fine ranging from RMB50,000 to RMB250,000; the directly responsible person-in-charge of an organisation or any other person directly responsible for the violation shall be liable to a fine ranging from 5% to 10% of the fine imposed upon the organization; where there is any illegal income from the violation, it shall be confiscated; in serious cases, the bidding agency shall be banned one to two years from acting as a bid agent for a project which is required by law to invite bids and an announcement shall be made, and the administration for industry and commerce shall revoke the business licence of the bidding agency; where the situation constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued pursuant to the law. Where any party has suffered loss as a result of the violation, compensation shall be paid pursuant to the law.

Where any of the acts listed in the preceding paragraph affect the outcome of a bid, the award of the bid shall be void.

Article 51.  Where a bid inviter restricts or excludes any potential bidder on the basis of any unreasonable terms, discriminates unfairly against a potential bidder, compels bidders to form a consortium for the purposes of joint submission of bid, or restricts competition among bidders, it shall be ordered to rectify the situation within a specified period and shall be fined an amount ranging from RMB10,000 to RMB50,000.

Article 52.  Where the bid inviter for a project required by law to invite bids divulges to a third party the names or number of prospective bidders who have received bid , or any other information relating to the invitation to or submission of bids which may affect fair competition, or divulges any minimum bid limit, it shall be given a disciplinary warning and shall be fined an amount ranging from RMB10,000 to RMB100,000; the  directly responsible person-in-charge of an organisation or any other person directly responsible for the violation shall be punished pursuant to the law; where the case constitutes a criminal offence, criminal liability shall be pursued pursuant to the law.

Where any of the acts listed in the preceding paragraph affect the outcome of a bid, the award of the bid shall be void.

Article 53.  Where bidders collude, or where a bidder colludes with the bid inviter in relation to the submission of a bid, or where a bidder  bribes the bid inviter or a member of the bid evaluation committee in order to be awarded a bid, the award of the bid shall be void; a fine ranging from 0.05% to 0.1% of the price of the bidding project shall be imposed; the directly responsible person-in-charge of an organisation or any other person directly responsible for the violation shall be fined an amount ranging from 5% to 10% of the fine imposed upon the organization; where there is illegal income from the violation, it shall be confiscated; in serious cases, the bidder shall be disqualified from bidding for a project required by law to call for bids  for a period of one to two years, and the disqualification shall be announced, and administration for industry and commerce may revoke the business licence of the bidder; where the case constitutes a criminal offence, criminal liability shall be pursued pursuant to the law; where the violation causes others to suffer losses, the offender shall bear compensation liability pursuant to the law.

Article 54.  Where a bidder submits bids under the name of another person or employs other fraudulent means to win the bids, the award of the bid shall be void, and the bidder shall be liable to compensate the bid inviter for any losses incurred therefrom; where the case constitutes a criminal offence, criminal liability shall be pursued pursuant to the law.

Where a bidder for a project required by law to call for bids  commits any of the acts listed in the preceding paragraph but does not commit a crime, it shall be fined an amount ranging from 0.05% to 0.1% of the price of the bidding project; the directly responsible person-in-charge of an organisation or any other person directly responsible for the violation shall be fined an amount ranging from 5% to 10% of the fine imposed upon the organisation; Illegal income derived from the violation shall be confiscated; Where the violation is serious, the bidder shall be disqualified from bidding  for a project required by law to call for bids  for a period of one to three years, and the disqualification shall be announced, and the administration for industry and commerce may revoke the business licence of the bidder .

Article 55.  A bid inviter for a project required by law to call for bids which commits a violation of the provisions of this Law by entering into negotiations with a bidder in relation to the bid price, a bid proposal or any other substantive matter, shall be given a disciplinary warning; the directly responsible person-in-charge of an organisation or any other person directly responsible for the violation shall be punished pursuant to the law.

Where any of the acts listed in the preceding paragraph affect the outcome of a bid, the award of the bid shall be void.

Article 56.  Any member of the bid evaluation committee who accepts any material or other benefit from a bidder, or any member of the bid evaluation committee or staff member involved in the evaluation of bids  process who divulges any information relating to the evaluation and comparison of bid  and the recommendation of candidates, or any other information related to the evaluation of bids , shall be given a disciplinary warning, and shall be fined an amount ranging from RMB3,000 to RMB50,000; any illegally-gained material benefit shall be confiscated; member of the bid evaluation committee who commits the act shall be disqualified from sitting on the bid evaluation committee for any project required by law to call for bids ; where the case constitutes a criminal offence, criminal liability shall be pursued pursuant to the law.

Article 57.  Where a bid inviter awards a bid to a bidder other than the lawful candidates recommended for the award of the bid by the bid evaluation committee, or awards a bid of its own accord for a project required by law to invite bids after the bid evaluation committee has rejected all the bids submissions, the award of the bid shall be void. The bid inviter shall be ordered to rectify the situation, and shall be fined an amount ranging from 0.05% to 0.1% of the price of the bidding project; the directly responsible person-in-charge of an organisation or any other person directly responsible for the violation shall be punished pursuant to the law.

Article 58.  Where a successful bidder transfers the bidding project to a third party, or breaks up the bidding project and transfers parts of the project to separate third parties, or violates the provisions of this Law by subcontracting part of the core or key elements of the project to third parties, or where a subcontractor further subcontracts any work, the transfer or subcontract shall be void, and the successful bidder or subcontractor shall be fined an amount ranging from 0.05% to 0.1% of the transferred project or subcontracted work, and shall be ordered to cease work until the bidden services are properly allocated; where there is illegal income from the violation, it shall be confiscated; where the situation is serious, the administration for industry and commerce shall revoke the business licence of the party concerned.

Article 59.  Where the terms of a contract executed between a bid inviter and a successful bidder do not comply with the bidding document and the bid of the successful bidder, or where the bid inviter and successful bidder conclude an agreement that departs from the substantive content of the contract, they shall be ordered to rectify the situation, and shall be fined an amount ranging from 0.05% to 0.1% of the price of the bidding project.

Article 60.  Where the successful bidder fails to perform the contract entered into with the bid inviter, it shall forfeit its security bond; where the loss incurred by the bid inviter as a result of the non-performance of the successful party exceeds the amount of the security bond, the successful bidder shall make compensation for the excess amount; where a successful bidder has not lodged a security bond, it shall compensate the loss suffered by the bid inviter.

Where a successful bidder fails to perform its obligations under the contract entered into with the bid inviter, if the situation is serious, the concerned bidder shall be disqualified from bidding for projects required by law to be call for bids for a period of two to five years, and the disqualification shall be announced; the administration for industry and commerce may revoke the business licence of the concerned party.

The preceding two paragraphs shall not apply in the event of force majeure.

Article 61.  The administrative penalties provided for in this chapter shall be decided by the relevant administrative authorities as stipulated by the State Council, except in relation to the implementation of administrative penalties by the authorities already stipulated in this Law.

Article 62.  Any unit which violates the provisions of this Law by restricting or excluding legal persons or other organisations from other regions or departments from participating in the bidding  process, designating a bidding agency to act for the bid inviter, compelling a bid inviter to appoint a bidding agency to conduct an invitation for bids , or interfering in any manner in the bids  process, shall be ordered to rectify the situation; the directly responsible person-in-charge of an organisation or any other person directly responsible for the violation shall be given a disciplinary warning, or have a demerit or major demerit recorded pursuant to the law; in relatively serious cases, he/she shall be demoted, dismissed or discharged pursuant to the law.

Any individual who uses his/her position to undertake any of the illegal acts listed in the preceding paragraph shall be held liable pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Article 63.  Where a staff member of a State agency tasked with the administrative supervision duties for bidding process is guilty of corruption, abusing official powers or dereliction of duties, if the case constitutes a criminal offence, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law; where the case does not constitute a criminal offence, he/she shall be subject to administrative punishment pursuant to the law.

Article 64.  Where an award of the bid for a project required by law to call for bid is rendered void due to a violation of the provisions of this Law, the bid inviter shall award the bid to any one of the remaining bidders pursuant to the bid awarding criteria stipulated by this Law, or undertake a new invitation for bids pursuant to the provisions of this Law.

CHAPTER VI — SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

Article 65.  Where a bidder or any interested party believes that a bidding process has not been conducted pursuant to the provisions of this Law, it shall state its objection to the bid inviter or make a complaint to the relevant administrative authorities.

Article 66.  Where a project involves national security, State secrets or disaster relief or it uses poverty relief funds to employ workers for disaster relief or it needs to use migrant workers, which is unsuitable for invitation for bids, bids need not be invited pursuant to the relevant provisions of the State.

Article 67.  For bids invited for a project which utilises loans or aid funds provided by an international organisation or foreign government, where the lender or the fund provider have different provisions on the specific criteria and procedures, such provisions may apply, provided that such provisions shall not contradict the public interest of the People's Republic of China.

Article 68.  This Law shall come into force as of 1 January 2000.