Medical materials: China replies to the European Union with “reciprocal” restrictions

China announced, Sunday, July 6, that it excluded companies from the European Union (EU) from large public orders for medical equipment. Measures presented as “Converse” After similar restrictions on Chinese firms in the EU.

The measurement concerns a wide variety of products, from devices and prosthesis parts to medical machines, including surgical instruments, endoscopes or artificial organs. “For medical devices (…) whose purchase budget exceeds 45 million yuan [5,3 millions d’euros]the participation of European Union companies [à l’exclusion des entreprises à capitaux européens implantées en Chine] will have to be excluded “said the Chinese Ministry of Finance in a statement.

Another restriction: in non -European business offers, the share of EU imported products may not exceed 50 % of the total amount of the contract. These measures come into force on Sunday, the Ministry of Finance underlined.

They follow similar measures against Chinese firms announced on June 20 by the European Commission. Brussels had decided to exclude Chinese companies from public orders for medical equipment exceeding 5 million euros. The European Commission said it had made this decision to encourage China to “Put an end to his discrimination against medical devices manufactured in the EU”.

“Protectionist barriers”

In a statement, a spokesperson for another Chinese ministry, that of trade, explained the motivations of Beijing on Sunday to impose these retaliation measures: “China has repeatedly expressed, through bilateral dialogue, its desire to properly resolve these disputes through consultations, dialogue and bilateral arrangements in the field of public purchases”he said.

“It is regrettable that, despite the good will and sincerity manifested by China, the European part wished to persist in this path, taking restrictive measures and by erecting new protectionist barriers. China is therefore forced to take reciprocal restriction measures. »»

Exceptions were however announced on Sunday by the Chinese Ministry of Finance. Reprisal measures “Do not apply to projects for which only medical devices imported from the European Union can meet purchasing needs”he said. The calls for tenders whose award notice or the result have already been made public are not affected by the restrictions, he also stressed.

China and the EU must hold a summit this month in Beijing to mark the 50^e anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations. But conflicts have multiplied for three years between Brussels and Beijing in different economic sectors: electric automobiles, rail industry, solar and wind panels.

The EU has decided to tackle the tone in recent years by having a vast legislative arsenal to better defend its companies in the face of unfair competition. The Commission had opened an investigation in April 2024 in the Chinese public markets of medical devices, a first in the context of a new mechanism of which the EU has set up in 2022 to obtain access to foreign public procurement.

The EU estimates that its public tenders are 95 % open to competition from the rest of the world, while European companies have almost no access to Chinese public contracts.