BRUSSELS: The European Union on Friday (Jun 20) banned Chinese language companies from authorities medical system purchases price greater than €5 million (US$5.8 million) in retaliation for limits Beijing locations on entry to its personal market.
The newest salvo in commerce tensions between the 27-nation bloc and China covers a variety of healthcare provides, from surgical masks to X-ray machines, that symbolize a market price €150 billion within the EU.
“Our goal with these measures is to degree the taking part in area for EU companies,” the bloc’s commerce commissioner Maros Sefcovic mentioned.
“We stay dedicated to dialogue with China to resolve these points.”
In response, China accused the EU of “double requirements”.
“The EU has at all times boasted that it’s the most open market on this planet, however in actuality, it has regularly moved in direction of protectionism,” overseas ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun mentioned at an everyday press briefing.
“Underneath the guise of honest competitors (the EU) truly carries out unfair competitors, which is a typical case of double requirements.”
The European Fee mentioned in a press release the transfer was in “response to China’s longstanding exclusion of EU-made medical units from Chinese language authorities contracts”.
Brussels mentioned just below 90 per cent of public procurement contracts for medical units in China “have been topic to exclusionary and discriminatory measures” in opposition to EU companies.
Along with barring Chinese language companies from main state purchases, “inputs from China for profitable bids” would even be restricted to 50 per cent, it mentioned.
Over the past three years, Brussels and Beijing have come into battle in quite a few financial sectors, together with electrical automobiles, the rail trade, photo voltaic panels and wind generators.
The choice on medical units comes at a time of heightened commerce tensions with President Donald Trump’s United States, which has imposed customs surcharges on imports from everywhere in the world, together with Europe.
The EU has determined to take a more durable stance on commerce in recent times, adopting an unlimited arsenal of laws to higher defend its companies in opposition to unfair competitors.
In April 2024, the fee opened an investigation into Chinese language public contracts for medical units, the primary underneath a brand new mechanism launched by the EU in 2022 to acquire higher entry to abroad state purchases.
China, however, accuses Europe of protectionism.
After a 12 months of negotiations, the fee, which manages commerce coverage on behalf of the 27 member states, mentioned it had did not make any progress with China.
“The measure seeks to incentivise China to stop its discrimination in opposition to EU companies and EU-made medical units and deal with EU firms with the identical openness because the EU does with Chinese language firms and merchandise,” Brussels mentioned.
