A national system to combat bribery is planned to be set up by the end of this year, said a senior official of the Supreme People’s procuratorate. 

¨Many individuals and companies found to have offered bribes are likely to be disqualified from bidding for other projects¨, said Song Hansong, director of the Apartment of Duty Crime Prevention of the Procuratorate. Cases of bribery have increased greatly in recent years. In 2010, 3.200 individuals were accounted for under the suspicion of giving bribery; a 30% increase from 2009, Song said.

"These bribers, often targeting government officials, offer money to gain illegal returns. They have seriously disordered the market economy," Song has explained.

According to Song, bribery tends to be observed mainly in capital-intensive industries such as in construction, finance, education, health and medicine, as well in the governmental sector.

A system to record bribery was established in 2006, however at that time it was only available at a pronincial level. According to Song, the new system will be effective in provincial, city and county levels."The system will allow organizations and individuals to submit an enquiry about a certain company, and there will be sent a bribery record of the company if the company has problems," Song said. Companies that have a record of bribery may face restrictions towards their market access, canceling or degrading of their qualifications or even the termination of their company. Song explains that law enforcement authorities often hand out much more lenient punishment to those who offer bribes than those who take them. "Taking bribes results from giving bribes, so we must enhance efforts to fight against offering bribes," Song said.