China has carried out a series of regulations to standardize and control the procurement of materials made by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) since the beginning of this year.

Shao Ning, director of the enterprise reform bureau under the State Economic and Trade Commission, urged SOEs nationwide to fight against seeking private gains at public expense when purchasing materials for their enterprises.

He said at a national conference on SOEs' materials procurement, which opened today in this coastal city in east China's Jiangsu Province, that the campaign against waste and corruption in this area will help SOEs save considerable amounts of money and increase profits.

At the beginning of this year, the commission asked SOEs to compare the offered prices and go to the reasonable one before placing orders.

Up to the end of November, SOEs in Jiangsu saved 2.45 billion yuan by implementing this practice. Liaoning Province, an important industrial base in northeast China, also saved 900 million yuan in materials costs.