China speeds up creation of social credit system

BEIJING - China's national social credit system gained momentum with guidelines issued on creating credit records of citizens and government agencies.

Two guidelines, issued by the State Council on Friday, specified priorities in building the system.

Real-name registration will be promoted in the fields of the internet, postal services, telecommunication and financial accounts to expedite the formation of personal credit records.

Individuals will first form track records in areas including traffic safety and paying of taxes, while civil servants and doctors are among the first group of professionals to register their credit profile.

The credit-worthy will be granted conveniences in education, employment and opening start-ups, while severe wrongdoing will be made public.

Meanwhile, China will offer better protection of personal information and privacy, and introduce a mechanism to restore mistaken and damaged credit records.

For government agencies, acts associated with government procurement, public-private partnership, local government debt are among key areas for improving creditworthiness.

Third-party institutions will participate in credit-rating for government agencies. Dishonesties will be recorded, collected by a national website and made public.