EU bans Chinese firms from major medical equipment contracts over market access dispute

The European Union has banned Chinese firms from participating in government medical device purchases exceeding €5 million. 

Brussels: The European Union on Friday banned Chinese firms from government medical device purchases worth more than five million euros ($5.8 million) in retaliation for limits Beijing places on access to its own market.

The latest salvo in trade tensions between the 27-nation bloc and China covers a wide range of healthcare supplies, from surgical masks to X-ray machines, that represent a market worth 150 billion euros in the EU.

"Our aim with these measures is to level the playing field for EU businesses," the bloc's trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said.

"We remain committed to dialogue with China to resolve these issues."

China accuses EU of protectionism

In response, China accused the EU of "double standards".

"The EU has always boasted that it is the most open market in the world, but in reality, it has gradually moved towards protectionism", foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing.

"Under the guise of fair competition (the EU) actually carries out unfair competition, which is a typical case of double standards."

EU cites discrimination against European companies

The European Commission said in a statement the move was in "response to China's longstanding exclusion of EU-made medical devices from Chinese government contracts."

Brussels said just under 90 percent of public procurement contracts for medical devices in China "were subject to exclusionary and discriminatory measures" against EU firms.

In addition to barring Chinese firms from major state purchases, "inputs from China for successful bids" would also be limited to 50 percent, it said.

Over the last three years, Brussels and Beijing have come into conflict in a number of economic sectors, including electric cars, the rail industry, solar panels and wind turbines.

The decision on medical devices comes at a time of heightened trade tensions with President Donald Trump's United States, which has imposed customs surcharges on imports from all over the world, including Europe.

The EU has decided to take a tougher stance on trade in recent years, adopting a vast arsenal of legislation to better defend its businesses against unfair competition.

In April 2024, the commission opened an investigation into Chinese public contracts for medical devices, the first under a new mechanism introduced by the EU in 2022 to obtain better access to overseas state purchases.

China, on the other hand, accuses Europe of protectionism.

After a year of negotiations, the commission, which manages trade policy on behalf of the 27 member states, said it had failed to make any progress with China.

"The measure seeks to incentivise China to cease its discrimination against EU firms and EU-made medical devices and treat EU companies with the same openness as the EU does with Chinese companies and products," Brussels said.