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Chinese universities given military procurement ban for rigging bidding process

Two Chengdu-based establishments have been banned by the PLA’s cyberspace branch for three years

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The University of Electronic Science and Technology is one of seven national defence industry colleges. Photo: Handout

Two universities in China have been banned from military procurement activities for rigging the bidding process amid an ongoing anti-corruption campaign.

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The People’s Liberation Army Cyberspace Force handed three-year bans to the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) and Chengdu University of Information Technology (CUIT) – both based in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province.

The bans were announced in two separate statements posted on the force’s website on January 2 – the date the ban started – both of which said the universities were “prohibited from participating in the procurement of materials and engineering services for cyberspace forces”.

Other enterprises controlled or managed by the universities’ representatives are also banned from procurement activities. The statements named Zeng Yong, the former president of UESTC, and Yu Minming, the former president of CUIT, in connection with this.

No further details of the bid-rigging were provided.

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Zeng retired as president last year, while Yu joined Southwest Jiaotong University in November 2022, according to Caixin.

However, the ban only covers cyberspace, so the universities can still participate in procurement related to other military branches.

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