Framework agreements have been widely used in Chinese public procurement for over two decades. However, the regulation is far behind the practice. There are currently neither legal rules nor a uniform definition of framework agreements in Chinese laws and regulations on public procurement at the national level. Legal uncertainty and inappropriate use of framework agreements in practice, which have attracted a significant amount of public criticism, have not been thoroughly analysed by the literature. This research aims to firstly investigate how framework agreements are used in Chinese public procurement (including the procurement by State-Owned Enterprises), secondly to analyse the problems and challenges that may undermine the beneficial use of such procurement arrangements, and, informed by the relevant international experiences, to further identify possible and practical options for China to regulate framework agreements to ensure their appropriate use.