French media: China announces "reciprocal" measures to exclude EU medical equipment from government large orders

The reason for China's announcement of this "reciprocal" measure is that an EU survey showed that 95% of its public tenders are open to other regions of the world, but European companies almost cannot obtain Chinese public contracts. To end this discrimination, Brussels decided on June 20 to exclude Chinese companies from public orders for medical equipment worth more than 5 million euros.

The Chinese Ministry of Finance announced on Sunday that EU companies would be excluded from "large medical equipment" public orders, and said these measures took effect on Sunday. This move is called a "reciprocal" measure because the EU had previously imposed similar restrictions on Chinese companies.

The Chinese Ministry of Finance stated in a press release: "For medical devices with a procurement budget exceeding 45 million yuan (5.3 million euros), EU companies will be excluded. However, it does not include European capital companies established in China."

AFP said that the scope of the products covered by this measure is broad, ranging from prosthetic devices and parts to medical machinery, surgical instruments, endoscopes, and artificial organs.

For bids from companies outside the EU, China stipulates that the share of EU imports must not exceed 50% of the total contract value.

However, the Chinese Ministry of Finance also stated that this measure "does not apply to projects where only medical devices imported from the EU can meet the procurement requirements."

In addition, tenders that have already announced the winning bid or results are not affected by the restriction measures.

AFP said that the European Commission announced similar measures against Chinese companies on June 20. Brussels decided to exclude Chinese companies from public orders for medical equipment worth more than 5 million euros, and stated that this decision was aimed at prompting China to "end the discrimination against medical equipment produced in the EU."

Protectionist barriers

A spokesperson from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce released a statement on Sunday explaining the reasons for the countermeasures taken by the Chinese Ministry of Finance, saying: "China has repeatedly expressed through bilateral dialogue its willingness to resolve these disputes through consultation, dialogue, and bilateral arrangements in the field of government procurement."

"It is regrettable that despite China's goodwill and sincerity, the EU still hopes to persist on this path, take restrictive measures, and set up new protectionist barriers. Therefore, China was forced to take reciprocal restrictive measures."

Trade disputes

China and the EU will hold a summit in Beijing this month to mark the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.

However, over the past three years, conflicts between Brussels and Beijing have increased in multiple economic areas such as electric vehicles, railway industry, solar panels, and wind turbines.

In recent years, the EU has decided to take a tougher stance, passing a large number of laws to better protect EU companies from unfair competition.

In April 2024, the European Commission launched an investigation into Chinese public contracts for medical devices, which was the first investigation under the new mechanism adopted by the EU in 2022 to gain foreign public contracts.

According to the EU's estimate, 95% of its public tenders are open to competition from other regions of the world, while European companies almost cannot obtain Chinese public contracts.

Source: rfi

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1836916225623048/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author."