MOF denies dropping foreign tech brands

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Monday denied media reports that claimed it had dropped foreign technology brands from the government procurement list.

Recent media reports that China removed some foreign technology vendors from China's government procurement list were not accurate, the MOF said in a statement sent to the Global Times Monday in reply to a request.

On Wednesday, Reuters reported that some of the world's biggest technology companies have failed to survive the cull of the Chinese government's latest approved procurement list, citing cyber-security concerns.

The MOF said the list mentioned in the reports only refers to "small-scale" purchases involving "small amounts of money" made by central government departments.

Many foreign brands submitted their bids for government procurement, and some were successful while others were not, said the ministry.

The ministry's statement did not detail the brands and types, but said that China did not remove any specific brands or products on purpose.

The ministry's comment was echoed by analysts. Li Yi, secretary-general of China Mobile Internet Industry Alliance, disclosed in an earlier interview with the Global Times that Cisco Systems Inc was not included on the above-mentioned list but its US rival Juniper Networks still remains on it.

The Reuters report also said that products on the list have increased by over 2,000 to 5,000, almost entirely attributed to a growing preference for local makers.

In response to this, the ministry said that when it comes to government procurement, China always treats foreign-branded products and locally produced ones equally with fairness.

On Friday, the State Council issued regulations on the enforcement of government procurement laws, effective on Sunday, to build a more transparent and fairer mechanism for government procurement.