As China continues talks on agreement, it needs to improve its legal provisions while seeking understanding on SOEs

China agreed to join the World Trade Organization's Government Procurement Agreement, which is meant to ensure foreign businesses are allowed to compete for a country's government purchase deals, when it became a member of the multilateral trade body in 2001. Negotiations on its GPA membership, which started at the end of 2007, have now entered a crucial stage.

Judging from the latest developments, the largest disagreement between China and GPA parties such as the United States and the European Union lies in whether and to what extent China's State-owned enterprises will be covered by the agreement. At the same time, the failure to set up a unified government procurement system and the considerable gap with new GPA terms also present obstacles.