Nation to build giant central credit database

China's central government is planning to set up a national credit platform in an attempt to promote greater market transparency and financial accountability this year, as related information held by individual parties will soon be gathered in a centralized database.

Credit information of individuals and corporations, ranging from tax payment to company registration status, social security payments to company financial reports, will all be brought to light, the Economic Information Daily reported.

The tracking database is built with identity codes assigned to each Chinese citizen and company, and allows the public access to financial and credit information, according to the proposal.

Submitted by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the People's Bank of China, the proposal has already been approved by the State Council. The planning and preparation, including the design of the system, is expected to be completed by June this year.

The national initiative would reach all levels of government and would be implemented in all provinces and municipalities, an NDRC official told the Economic Information Daily.

Some provinces reacted promptly to the initiative. Guangdong, Jiangsu and Guizhou provinces already laid out detailed plans for local consultation, the Beijing-based newspaper reported.

The new policy is a great step towards a society with open information, Tian Yun, an economist at the NDRC's China Society of Macroeconomics, told the Global Times.

The disclosure of financial information would hold companies accountable and facilitate trust in business dealings, Tian said.

As the policy is expected to involve different departments of the government, Tian doubted whether they could all cooperate well during implementation. There should be a cross-departmental taskforce to coordinate and oversee the project, he suggested.

If it fell in the wrong hands, the policy may give rise to corruption as officials take advantage of sensitive information for their own interest, Tian warned.

The government should avoid abuse of power and guarantee the confidentiality of information submitted by individuals and corporations, he suggested.

The government should disclose the program's progress to the public for the media and society to keep track of implementation.

Implementation will be completed in three phases, according to the proposal. Strategic planning of the system based on credit code, consistent with a citizen's national identity card number, is expected to finish by the end of June. The first phase of the policy will be carried out by the end of 2015.

By 2017, a comprehensive platform combining financial, corporate registration, personal tax payment and even traffic violation information will be complete to allow open and shared information.