EU RESTRICTS SALES OF MEDICAL DEVICES BY CHINESE COMPANIES

On June 1, European Union countries voted to restrict Chinese companies from selling medical devices in the European Union, thus retaliating for China’s restrictions on imports of medical devices from the European Union.

The decision restricts Chinese companies from selling medical devices worth five million euros in the European Union over the next five years, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. It is the first measure the European Union has implemented under the “International Public Procurement Directive”, which comes into force in 2022.

The European Union launched an investigation into China’s medical device purchasing in April last year and found in January this year that China’s state hospitals were excluding foreign companies from purchasing medical devices. Bloomberg previously reported that the European Union and China had held talks but failed to find a solution.

China’s medical device market currently ranks second after the United States. The Chinese regime has demanded "domestic production of medical devices" in recent years and planned to increase the rate of spread of medical devices produced in China to 70-80 percent through this policy.

Currently, the European Union has taken practical action to retaliate against these actions of China. This decision may further increase trade tensions between the European Union and China.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian responded to reporters' questions on this issue on June 3, stating that China has consistently protected international trade rules, while the European Union has applied double standards in the field of trade, and that the Chinese side will protect the rights and interests of its own companies.