Credit database plan sent to cabinet

A plan to establish the country's first personal credit database has been submitted to the State Council (the cabinet) for review, the Economic Information Daily reported on Monday.

The database is to be completed by 2017, with credit information on finances, tax payments, social security payments and traffic violations pooled on a single platform, according to the plan seen by the newspaper, which is a subsidiary of the Xinhua News Agency.

Individuals and companies will be given a code that contains all of their credit records, and their credit ratings will be reviewed based on information on the platform.

The State Council issued initial guidelines on the database in 2007, saying that the system would help build trust and order in a market-based economy.

Work accelerated this year in response to sweeping reforms announced in November, in which the government vowed to let market forces play a "decisive role" in the economy.

The plan was drafted by several government entities, led by the People's Bank of China (central bank) and the National Development and Reform Commission, which is the nation's top economic planning agency.

The PBOC already has a credit system with records for more than 800 million individuals. Last year, the system allowed users to check their credit records online. But information in the PBOC's system is limited to personal information and financial records, while the new system will have a much wider range of information.

The database will be built in phases. By June this year, a system will be established to give each citizen and organization a credit code based on their identification card numbers or organization codes. By 2015, the code system will be implemented and another arrangement will be in place that monitors government credit.

Ma Kai, one of China's four vice-premiers and former head of the NDRC, told Xinhua in March that the credit code system will "institutionally strengthen and innovate social management and solidify the foundation for corruption prevention and punishment".

"The spirit of contract among market players is key for market forces to play a decisive role in the economy. Building a comprehensive credit system can't be delayed," said Zhang Zheng, associate dean of the School of Economics at Peking University, during a forum last month.