China Responds to EU Ban on Medical Devices With Import Restrictions of Its Own

Soaring trade tensions between Beijing and Brussels came just weeks ahead of a leaders’ summit to mark the 50th anniversary of their formal diplomatic ties.

A worker produces medical supplies that will be exported at a factory in Binzhou, in China's eastern Shandong province on June 15, 2023. STR/AFP via Getty Images

China unveiled new restrictions on July 6 that further limits European medical device companies’ access to its market, as a retaliatory tactic amid the trade tensions with the 27-nation bloc.

Government procurement contracts valued at over 45 million yuan ($6.3 million) will exclude companies based in the European Union, according to an online notice from the Chinese communist regime’s Ministry of Finance. The ban will not apply to European companies that operate and manufacture within China, it said.