China Strikes Back with Trade Retaliation Against EU... Limits European Medical Device Firms' Participation in Chinese Procurement

China has announced retaliatory countermeasures against the European Union (EU), which has effectively banned large-scale participation of Chinese medical device manufacturers in public procurement.

On July 6, the Chinese Ministry of Finance stated in a notice that, starting from this day, central and local governments in China must exclude EU companies from participating when purchasing medical devices with a budget exceeding 45 million yuan (approximately 8.5 billion won).

Additionally, the ministry specified that non-EU companies participating in Chinese government procurement must ensure that the proportion of medical devices imported from the EU does not exceed 50% of the total contract value with China. However, in cases where procurement projects require imports exclusively from the EU, the 'EU exclusion' rule will not be applied.

This measure is a direct response to the EU Commission's decision on June 20 (local time), which banned Chinese companies from bidding on public procurement contracts for medical devices exceeding 5 million euros (approximately 7.9 billion won), and limited the proportion of Chinese-made components in winning bids to less than 50%.

The Five-star Red Flag Raised at the Opening Ceremony Venue (Harbin=Yonhap News) Reporter Seo Daeyeon = At the opening ceremony of the 9th Harbin Winter Asian Games held on the 7th at the Harbin International Convention Exhibition Sports Center in China, the host country's national flag, the Five-star Red Flag, is being raised. 2025.2.7 dwise@yna.co.kr (End)

Previously, the EU Commission pointed out that exports of Chinese medical device companies to the EU doubled between 2015 and 2023, but China erected serious and repeated legal and administrative barriers to exclude European companies from participating in its own public procurement processes. Overall, the commission noted that 87% of all public procurement of medical devices in China excluded European companies, indicating discriminatory practices in the selection of contractors.

The Chinese government made it clear that these measures are retaliatory in nature, but also signaled a willingness to keep the door open for dialogue by moderating the severity of its response.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated, "China has repeatedly expressed its willingness to address differences with the EU through bilateral dialogue, negotiations, and discussions on both governments' procurement plans and other means."