China Observatory: Monitoring of China’s economic policy and developments affecting the economic relations between the EU and China: development and m...

The European Commission, Directorate-General for Trade (DG TRADE), has issued a call for tenders designated as EC-TRADE/2025/OP/0031 for a project titled "China Observatory: Monitoring of China's economic policy and developments affecting the economic relations between the EU and China: development and maintenance of a foreign direct investment database." This procurement opportunity involves a service contract with an estimated overall financial commitment of €1,500,000, set to span a maximum duration of 48 months.

This tender requires the development and maintenance of a comprehensive database that tracks foreign direct investment (FDI) between China and the EU, along with regular monitoring and analysis of China's economic policies and their implications for EU-China trade relations. The bid submission deadline is scheduled for February 24, 2026, at 14:00 (Brussels time), and a public opening event for the bids will take place shortly after on February 26, 2026.

Eligible applicants for this tender include service providers and consulting firms with suitable expertise in economic policy analysis and database management. Although the tender specification indicates that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are not particularly favored, larger organizations with the capacity to handle sophisticated analytical tasks are expected to be the primary respondents.

Submissions must be made electronically via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal, and applicants are required to possess a Personal Identification Code (PIC) when participating, whether alone or in a consortium. An electronic submission guarantees that the integrity and confidentiality of all documents are maintained, utilizing encryption for security.

The award of the contract will be based on a quality-cost ratio, with 70% of the evaluation criteria focusing on quality and 30% on price. Therefore, submissions should demonstrate substantial expertise, analytical capacity, and a proven ability to manage large-scale research and monitoring projects effectively.

The tender documents include essential components such as the invitation letter, tender specifications, a declaration of honor, a financial offer form, and a draft service contract. The eSubmission platform allows for a maximum of 200 files per tender, and each file must not exceed 50 MB.

Overall, this procurement represents a significant opportunity for large research firms and consulting agencies specializing in economic analysis, particularly those with experience in EU policy contexts and an understanding of the Chinese economic landscape. Interested parties must act swiftly to prepare their submissions, as the looming deadline approaches.

The European Commission, DG TRADE - Trade, has published a call for tenders EC-TRADE/2025/OP/0031, titled "China Observatory: Monitoring of China’s economic policy and developments affecting the economic relations between the EU and China: development and maintenance of a foreign direct investment database." The TED reference for this tender is 246/2025 851488-2025.

This is an open procedure, and submissions must be electronic. The estimated total value of the contract is 1,500,000 EUR. The TED publication date is 22/12/2025. The main classification (CPV) is 79311400 - Economic research services. The nature of the contract is for services, with a maximum contract duration of 48 months. The award method is based on the best price-quality ratio. No framework agreement is mentioned.

Key milestones include: TED publication date: 22/12/2025, Date and time of public opening: 26/02/2026 14:00 Europe/Brussels, Deadline for receipt of tenders: 24/02/2026 14:00 Europe/Brussels, and the Contracting authority is not bound to reply to questions submitted after 16/02/2026 07:00 Europe/Brussels.

The following documents are available for download:
1. EN Invitation to tender EC-TRADE2025OP0031 China Observatory Invitation letter, published on 22/12/2025, Version 1, No translations available.
2. EN Tender specifications Tender specifications, published on 22/12/2025, Version 1, No translations available.
3. EN Annex 2 to tender specs- Declaration on honour EC-TRADE2025OP0031 China Observatory Declaration on honour (tender), published on 22/12/2025, Version 1, No translations available.
4. EN Annex 6 to tender specs - Financial offer form EC-TRADE2025OP0031 China Observatory Financial offer form, published on 22/12/2025, Version 1, No translations available.
5. EN Draft service contract EC-TRADE2025OP0031 China Observatory Draft contract, published on 22/12/2025, Version 1, No translations available.
6. EN Annex V to draft service contract EC-TRADE2025OP0031 China Observatory Draft contract annex, published on 22/12/2025, Version 1, No translations available.

Submissions must be sent exclusively via electronic submission.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) related to the eSubmission system:
1. How to proceed if the system is slow or doesn’t work while uploading/downloading documents? Use the latest versions of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. If the issue persists, clear the cache and cookies.
2. Which Internet browsers does eSubmission support? Use the latest versions of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Refer to the System Requirements link for the most up-to-date technical recommendations.
3. Is it possible to view the details of the submission after the deadline? No, the content is not accessible after the deadline due to system encryption.
4. Where can I find my submissions in Manage My Area, in the Funding & Tenders portal? Submissions can be found in ‘My Submission(s)’.
5. Which size should attachments have? Attachments should be less than 50 MB in size.
6. How should I name attachments in eSubmission? Follow the System Requirements for attachment names.
7. Can I submit a video in eSubmission? Which formats are supported? Check the System Requirements of eSubmission.
8. I received an invitation from the F&T Portal but cannot view the procurement documents. Select an organisation in the F&T Portal under “My Invitations”.
9. Do I need to validate my PIC in order to submit a tender in eSubmission? A Personal Identification Code (PIC) is mandatory.
10. I have an issue uploading a file in eSubmission and it’s giving me an error. What do I do? Ensure the file follows the technical requirements of the system.
11. How many attachments can I upload per submission? The system allows a maximum of 200 files per tender.
12. Why do tenderers need a PIC? A PIC is mandatory to submit a tender or a request to participate.
13. How do I register my organisation and get a Participant Identification Code (PIC)? Check if the organisation is already registered using the Search PIC tool under 'How to Participate' > Participant Register.
14. How many languages does the system support? The system supports all 24 official EU languages.
15. Which is the character set encoding in the system? The character set encoding is UTF-8.
16. Does the system use encryption to ensure the integrity and the confidentiality of the information? Yes, the system encrypts all uploaded documents using an asymmetric key.
17. Which file types does the system support? The supported file types depend on the type of submission.
18. Can I view and edit my draft submission? Yes, until the submission deadline.
19. In the submission report, under the name of our entity, "Legal form: UNKNOWN" is displayed while in the system, our legal form was correctly displayed. Is this a problem for the submission? No, it is just a display issue and not blocking for submission.
20. I sent my submission on time and a few days later, I received an automatic email informing me that the deadline for the reception of submissions had been reached. Does this mean that my submission was not correctly sent? No, this is an auto-generated notification.

In summary, this is a call for tenders by the European Commission, DG TRADE, for monitoring China's economic policy and its impact on EU-China economic relations, specifically focusing on developing and maintaining a foreign direct investment database. The tender is open for electronic submissions until February 24, 2026. The project aims to award a service contract for a maximum duration of 48 months, with an estimated total value of 1.5 million EUR. The award will be based on the best price-quality ratio. Interested parties must register for a PIC and adhere to the eSubmission system's technical requirements, including file size and naming conventions. Several documents, including the invitation letter, tender specifications, declaration of honour, financial offer form, draft service contract, and contract annex, are available for download.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, given that this is a call for tenders for a service contract, it is likely that eligible applicants could include companies, research institutions, or other organizations with the capacity to provide economic research services.

Funding Type: This is a procurement opportunity, specifically a call for tenders for a service contract.

Consortium Requirement: The text mentions that a Personal Identification Code (PIC) is mandatory to participate in a call for tenders as a sole candidate/tenderer or as a member of a group (consortium). This suggests that both single applicants and consortia are eligible.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is not explicitly stated. However, since it is a European Commission tender, it is likely open to entities within the EU and possibly other countries that have agreements with the EU.

Target Sector: The target sector is economic research services, specifically related to monitoring China’s economic policy and developments affecting the economic relations between the EU and China, and the development and maintenance of a foreign direct investment database.

Mentioned Countries: China, EU.

Project Stage: The project stage is not explicitly mentioned, but it appears to be focused on the operational phase, involving monitoring, development, and maintenance activities.

Funding Amount: The estimated total value of the tender is 1,500,000 EUR.

Application Type: The application type is an open call for tenders, with electronic submission.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in exchange for providing services.

Application Stages: The number of application stages is not explicitly stated, but it would likely involve at least one stage of proposal submission and evaluation.

Success Rates: The success rates are not mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The co-funding requirement is not mentioned in the provided text.

Summary:

This is a call for tenders (EC-TRADE/2025/OP/0031) issued by the European Commission, DG TRADE, for the "China Observatory: Monitoring of China’s economic policy and developments affecting the economic relations between the EU and China: development and maintenance of a foreign direct investment database." The procedure is an open procedure with electronic submission. The estimated total value of the contract is 1,500,000 EUR, and the maximum contract duration is 48 months. The award method is based on the best price-quality ratio. The TED publication date was 22/12/2025, and the deadline for receipt of tenders is 24/02/2026 at 14:00 Europe/Brussels. The contracting authority is not bound to reply to questions submitted after 16/02/2026 07:00 Europe/Brussels. The main classification (CPV) code is 79311400 - Economic research services. The tender documents include an invitation letter, tender specifications, a declaration on honour, a financial offer form, a draft service contract, and a draft contract annex. Submissions must be sent exclusively via electronic submission. A Personal Identification Code (PIC) is mandatory for participation, whether as a sole candidate or as part of a consortium. The eSubmission system supports various file types and has a maximum attachment size of 50 MB per file and a maximum of 200 files per tender. The system supports all 24 official EU languages and uses UTF-8 character set encoding. The system encrypts all uploaded documents.