On May 12, 2026, China’s National People’s Congress (NPC, 全国人民代表大会, Quánguó Rénmín Dàibiǎo Dàhuì) released its 2026 Legislative Work Plan. Then, on June 23–26, the NPC Standing Committee gave first reading to landmark amendments to the Government Procurement Law and the Bidding Law — the first simultaneous revision in the 20-plus years since both laws took effect. Here is what the agenda means for your China business.
Why It Matters
China’s government procurement market is enormous. In 2025, public procurement spending reached approximately 3.8 trillion yuan (US$523 billion), according to Ministry of Finance data. For foreign-invested enterprises operating in China, access to this market has been a persistent pain point — overlapping rules, inconsistent standards, and ambiguity about whether foreign firms enjoy the same rights as domestic competitors.
The NPC’s 2026 agenda directly addresses several of these friction points. Beyond procurement, the work plan includes revisions to the Trademark Law, the Tax Collection and Administration Law, the Bankruptcy Law, and the Anti-Money Laundering Law — each carrying operational implications for foreign businesses. “This is not a tweak year,” Caixin noted in its analysis. “The legislative slate represents the most ambitious regulatory overhaul since the 2020 Foreign Investment Law took effect.”
The Details
Government Procurement and Bidding Law Reform. For more than two decades, China’s Government Procurement Law and Bidding Law have operated in parallel — the Ministry of Finance overseeing procurement, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) overseeing tendering. Overlapping scope created what practitioners call “dual-track compliance” requiring companies to navigate two separate regimes for the same project.
The draft amendments aim to draw a clear boundary between the two laws and unify rules across the full project lifecycle — from approval through payment. A new provision requires procuring entities to justify abnormally low bids, addressing a long-standing complaint that price-only evaluation disadvantages quality-focused foreign suppliers. China Briefing reports that the amendments explicitly reinforce that foreign-invested enterprises “hold the same rights and opportunities as domestic firms in procurement activities.”
Trademark Law Amendment. The 2026 Trademark Law revision targets bad-faith registrations — a persistent problem for foreign brands. Under the proposed changes, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) gains expanded authority to reject applications filed in bad faith and to accelerate enforcement against trademark squatters. For foreign companies entering China, trademark pre-registration remains non-negotiable, but the amendment should reduce the cost and timeline of defending marks against hijackers.
Tax Collection and Administration Law. The revision introduces digital tax administration tools and strengthens taxpayer rights. One notable provision: the statute of limitations for tax audits is being clarified, giving companies more certainty about their historical exposure. For foreign businesses with complex cross-border structures, this clarity reduces a key operational risk.
Financial Regulation. The agenda also advances revisions to the Anti-Money Laundering Law and the Bankruptcy Law. The bankruptcy revision is particularly relevant for foreign creditors — it streamlines cross-border insolvency recognition and gives foreign creditors clearer standing in Chinese bankruptcy proceedings. In 2025, China recorded 4,893 corporate bankruptcy filings, up 23% year-on-year, according to Supreme People’s Court data.
What You Should Do
These legislative changes will roll out on different timelines — some laws receive final votes in 2026, others extend into 2027. But the preparation window is now. Here is your action checklist:
- Audit your procurement exposure. If your business bids on Chinese government contracts, map your current compliance approach against the draft amendments. The unified regime should simplify processes, but the transition period may create confusion.
- Review your trademark portfolio. Run a CNIPA database check on your key marks. The amendment creates a window to challenge bad-faith registrations with stronger legal backing.
- Assess tax audit risk. With the tax administration law revision clarifying audit timelines, now is the moment to review your transfer pricing documentation and historical filings.
- Update your China legal risk register. The simultaneous revision of 5-plus business-facing laws means your compliance posture from 2025 is already becoming outdated.
For companies considering new China market entry, the procurement reform alone changes the calculus. As China’s new sci-tech investment incentives demonstrate, policy evolution in China is accelerating — and the direction is toward clearer, more standardized rules for foreign participants.
One Data Point
The number to remember: 3.8 trillion. That is the value, in yuan, of China’s public procurement market in 2025. If the procurement law amendments achieve their stated goal of leveling the playing field, foreign companies could compete for a significantly larger share of this market than the estimated 8–10% they capture today. For context, a 1 percentage point share gain in China’s procurement market is worth roughly US$5.2 billion — more than the entire public procurement market of most Southeast Asian countries combined.
— China Gateway 360 —
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