China is still has been engaged in negotiations with the World Trade Organisation since 2001 to join the Agreement on Government Procurement. The literature suggests that the major cost of China’s accession to the GPA would be the loss of the use of public procurement as a tool to pursue secondary policy objectives, while the benefits relate mainly to market access. In addition, membership of the GPA would promote transparency in governance by tackling and eliminating ‘illegitimate practices’ in government procurement. In this article the cost, benefits and challenges of China’s GPA accession and implementation are identified, showing that the benefits and incentives of China joining the GPA are arguable