Under the mandate of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC), the chinabidding.com website offers to overseas tenderers on-line opportunities to export to China US$5 billion worth of machinery and electronic products annually.

In addition, the website includes information service, data transmission, data statistics, e-commerce and on-line consulting.

Chang Xiaocun, director of the Machinery and Electronics Products Management Department of MOFTEC, said the new website is part of the government's efforts to transform its role in the face of the upcoming entry into the World Trade Organization.

"We need a more open, just and transparent environment following the entry into the WTO," Chang said. "The new website marks a new step in our efforts to manage the imports of machinery and electronic products in a more open, just and fair manner."

The total volume of China's imports of machinery and electronic products offered for bidding on-line added up to US$3.786 billion in 2000, up 28.8 percent. The volume of goods China actual imported through international tendering were US$3.112 billion last year.

(Xinhua News Agency 10/02/2001)