China’s complex social credit system evolves with 23 new guidelines from Beijing
Guidelines also establish ‘seriously discredited entities’ list for specific sectors – and those on the list could face restrictions or bans on issuing stocks and bonds
China has further solidified its decade-long social credit initiative by unveiling 23 new guidelines, including plans for government and enterprise credit ratings, along with rewards and punishments.
The document, issued by the State Council on Monday, is designed to create a “fair and orderly competitive market environment”, building on the social credit system first outlined in 2014.
“The system is designed to improve the overall creditworthiness of society by enforcing reward and punishment mechanisms based on credit records,” he noted.
To an extent, China’s social credit system is similar to the US’ credit scoring system, with the use of credit information dictating access to services and opportunities, but China’s system is more comprehensive – at least in theory.
The range of included data in China’s system extends beyond financial records to encompass various types of misconduct, including violations of laws, Zhao said.
To better serve a unified national market, the guidelines pledge to build a social credit system covering all types of entities, while improving the credit disclosure of state-owned enterprises on the condition that the information’s security is ensured.