A scale model of China’s domestically developed FC-31 stealth fighter jet is on display at the World Defense Show 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on February 4, 2024. Photo: VCG

A Chinese international purchasing agency has had its purchasing agency qualification revoked for serious risk of information leakage due to the company’s internal mismanagement and poor practices around managing sensitive data, the Equipment Development Department (EDD) of China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) announced in a statement on Tuesday. 

According to the investigation, China Far East International Tendering Company, a branch under the China Far East International Trading Corporation, was found to have violated regulations and improperly forwarded a large amount of procurement announcement materials through WeChat and internet emails, and stored a large quantity of classified documents on non-confidential computers. 

The company’s confidentiality management was found to have fallen significantly short of minimum requirements, posing a serious risk of information leakage, according to the statement on the All-Army Weapons and Equipment Procurement Information Network, a website that provides all information on the country’s weapon and armament needs, relevant policies procurement notices, enterprise lists and technology. 

According to relevant regulations including the management measures for equipment procurement tender agency services, the authority decided to revoke the company’s qualification as a procurement tender agency for equipment. 

The authority ordered that the qualification be revoked with immediate effect and all relevant units were prohibited from entering into any further commissioning agreements with this company. 

For the projects that have signed a commissioning agreement, commissioning services that have not yet commenced must be terminated immediately while services that have been executed must be suspended immediately. 

For services with termination conditions, termination should be executed immediately. In cases where termination is not feasible due to objective reasons, proper procedures must be followed to seek approval and handle relevant matters appropriately. 

Meanwhile, the authority urged the units to promptly conduct a thorough review and handover of documents and materials with the company to ensure that there are no security or confidentiality issues. 

Global Times