The European Commission (EC) will restrict Chinese companies from EU government purchases of medical devices exceeding 鈧�5m ($5.7m).
The move comes after a report found that 87% of public procurement contracts for medical devices in China were subject to 鈥渆xclusionary and discriminatory measures鈥� and practices against EU-made medical devices and EU suppliers.
In addition, Chinese entities will now be restricted from around 60% of annual spending within the medical device field, with EU contracting authorities now ordered to ensure that up to 50% of a contract鈥檚 value is subcontracted to Chinese entities or includes Chinese-origin medical devices.
Initiated in April 2024 with the , the report guiding the EU鈥檚 decision marked the first investigation under the EU鈥檚 International Procurement Instrument (IPI) regulation of 2022, a law created to promote reciprocity in access to international public procurement markets.
China is the second-largest medtech market worldwide. The EU鈥檚 investigation concluded that Chinese policies, including its 鈥楳ade in China 2025鈥� economic roadmap, favoured domestic medical devices over imported ones by design.
The EC also observed that China鈥檚 volume-based procurement of medical devices forces bidders to offer the lowest possible price, and that the contracting authorities set a maximum reference price and maximum price margins for bid selection.
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By GlobalDataThe commission stated that the European procurement market is still one of the most open in the world, highlighting that Chinese medical device exports to the EU more than doubled between 2015 and 2023.
The EC stated that it had made repeated efforts to engage with Chinese authorities regarding the lack of reciprocity and to seek a constructive and fair solution that would enable EU companies to access the Chinese market on terms comparable to those enjoyed by Chinese firms in the EU. However, the EC stated that China had 鈥渟o far not offered specific commitments that would address the discriminatory measures and practices identified鈥�.
The EC backed the restrictions earlier this month. Writing in , China鈥檚 Ministry of Commerce (MoC) opposed the plans, branding the EU鈥檚 move 鈥減rotectionist鈥�.
The ministry wrote: 鈥淎s responsible major economies, China and the EU should adhere to WTO [World Trade Organization] rules, uphold the principles of fairness, transparency and non-discrimination, address challenges through mutual openness, and resolve differences through cooperative dialogue to jointly safeguard the healthy development of China-EU economic and trade relations.鈥�
The EC stated that should China offer 鈥渃oncrete, verifiable, and satisfactory solutions that effectively address the concerns identified鈥�, the IPI framework allows for the suspension or withdrawal of measures.
Maro拧 艩ef膷ovi膷, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency, commented: 鈥淥ur aim with these measures is to level the playing field for EU businesses. We remain committed to dialogue with China to resolve these issues.鈥�
