BEIJING -- A rule, which will take effect on Saturday, bans first-aid squads from refusing or delaying emergency medical service just because the patients cannot pay.

The regulation on management of emergency medical service was adopted by the National Health and Family Planning Commission last October.

The regulation also bans using ambulances for purposes other than offering emergency medical service.

Several other regulations will also come into effect on Saturday.

A regulation on government procurement, introduced by the Ministry of Finance, specifies the process concerning government procurement and legal liabilities of related people.

In another regulation, the government in southwest China's Guizhou province sets down preferential policies to encourage companies to employ former drug addicts that have been rehabilitated.