BEIJING — Feb 10 (GeokHUb) - China plans to deploy artificial intelligence tools in public tendering and bidding processes to curb corruption and prevent backroom deals, according to new government guidelines released on Tuesday.
The initiative comes as President Xi Jinping’s long-running anti-corruption campaign continues to intensify, with authorities seeking to expand the use of technology in oversight and enforcement.
AI to Flag Irregularities
Under the guidelines, AI-powered systems will be used to identify unusual patterns in tender and bidding documents, monitor decisions made by review committees, and generate recommendations using advanced reasoning capabilities.
Officials said the tools are designed to uncover potential bid-rigging and provide investigative leads for disciplinary and law enforcement authorities.
Multiple government agencies, including the country’s top economic planner, said the systems would act as an early-warning mechanism in a process often vulnerable to manipulation.
Part of Broader Anti-Graft Push
The guidelines follow a call made last year by President Xi to strengthen anti-corruption efforts by expanding the use of big data and digital tools. China’s main anti-graft watchdog has emphasized technology as a key weapon against misconduct in government and state-owned enterprises.
Authorities argue that the sheer volume of public tenders makes traditional oversight difficult, increasing the need for automated screening.
Early Results Already Seen
AI-assisted monitoring has already led to enforcement action in some regions. In one eastern province, a state asset official was detained after an AI system flagged suspicious activity across several public construction projects.
Investigators later found the official had accepted bribes from bidders and acted as an intermediary to influence tender review committees. The official was sentenced to prison late last year.
Local anti-corruption staff said data-driven tools help narrow down cases that would otherwise be impossible to detect manually.
