Medical exports’ quality fears allayed
Print Edition
CHINA has sold nearly 4 billion masks to foreign countries since March, officials said yesterday, as they tried to stem concerns over the quality of medical exports.
Despite Chinese cases dwindling, authorities have encouraged factories to increase production of medical supplies as the pandemic has killed over 60,000 globally and parts of the world are facing a protective equipment shortage.
China has exported 3.86 billion masks, 37.5 million pieces of protective clothing, 16,000 ventilators and 2.84 million COVID-19 testing kits since March 1, customs official Jin Hai said, with orders for more than 50 countries.
He added the country’s medical supply exports were valued at 10.2 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion).
Although some nations have complained about substandard or faulty medical products shipped from China, Chinese officials said that they “did not reflect the full facts.”
“In reality there are various factors, such as China having different standards and different usage habits to other countries. Even improper use can lead to doubts over quality,” said Jiang Fan, an official with the Ministry of Commerce.
Last week, the Dutch government recalled 600,000 masks out of a Chinese shipment of 1.3 million that did not meet quality standards.
China said the manufacturer “stated clearly that (the masks) are non-surgical.”
Jiang’s comments echoed remarks from Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, who over the past week has repeatedly urged Western media not to “politicize” or “hype up” the issue.
Stressing China always attaches great importance to the quality of export products, Hua said relevant Chinese authorities have issued stricter supervision measures.
Last week, China tightened regulations for exported coronavirus medical equipment, requiring products to fulfil both domestic licensing standards and that of their destination countries. China has increased its production capacity of COVID-19 testing kits to over 4 million a day.
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