China restricts the EU's purchase of medical sets exceeding 45 million yuan, escalating trade conflicts related to market access and contract policies.

China has declared new quotas on medical device purchases from European Union-based firms, which are increasing tensions in trade relations between the two economic heavyweights. As of July 6, EU firms will not be involved in any Chinese government procurement contracts involving some medical equipment that are worth more than 45 million yuan as was stated by the Ministry of Finance in China.

It is perceived as a direct answer to the recent decision by the EU to restrict the access of Chinese medical device makers to EU government procurement contracts above the sum of 5 million. This is because this EU policy, which affects almost 150 billion euro in government medical expenditures, will ensure that Chinese participation should not exceed half in the cases where the bid is won.

The bigger picture returned after the EU-funded firms that produce on Chinese soil were not being affected, although the general implications could mean that the people relations between China and the EU are ready to cool down. The Ministry of Commerce of China explained that the intra-country activities of the EU companies would be exempted; however, it threatened additional measures in kind.

The growth in the export of medical devices to the EU from Chinese producers has now exceeded 2:1 between 2015 and 2023 and the European regulators are taking an increased interest in imbalances in the market, unfair subsidization in their export, and closed access to their own market.

This trend is occurring amid wider geopolitical tensions. China has also been levying the anti-dumping tariff on European brandy due to the EU tariff on Chinese electric vehicles

The tit-for-tat itself is a result of the increasing pressure in international trade relations and packs medical devices in the scope as the new frontier of conflict.