China has tightened payment rules for automakers, setting firm deadlines for accepting parts and closing loopholes that allowed carmakers to stretch supplier payments.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration for Market Regulation on Monday unveiled new guidelines aimed at standardizing supplier payment practices across the world's largest auto market.
The move comes after 17 major Chinese automakers pledged last June to keep supplier payment periods within 60 days.
The new rules spell out how that 60-day clock should work in practice. Payment periods must be calculated from the date that goods, engineering work or services delivered by suppliers have passed acceptance checks.
They also impose tighter timelines on those checks. Automakers should generally complete acceptance of ordinary components and other production materials within three working days of receiving them, while functional components that require installation and vehicle testing should generally be accepted within five working days.
