EU Restricts Chinese Companies From Certain Tenders for Medical Devices
Udumbara
The European Commission has restricted Chinese companies from certain EU public tenders for medical devices, in a response to unfair market access for EU firms in China.
The investigation’s findings confirmed that China has consistently restricted imported medical devices in its public procurement processes.
According to the announcement, Chinese companies will be barred from EU government tenders for medical devices of more than 5 million euros ($5.7 million), with successful bids limited to no more than 50 percent Chinese-origin inputs.
According to Chinese state-run media People’s Daily, both parties committed to collaborative efforts to find common ground, prepare thoroughly for this year’s key China–EU economic and trade agenda, and foster the healthy, stable, and ongoing development of their trade relations. EU medical device firms have faced persistent barriers in accessing China’s procurement market, even though China is a major export destination for these products, representing 11 percent of exports in 2022.
China has imposed substantial and ongoing legal and administrative obstacles in its procurement market, with a 2025 EU Commission report finding that 87 percent of public medical device contracts in China involved exclusionary and discriminatory measures against EU-made devices and suppliers.
The new retaliatory restrictions are likely to escalate tensions with Beijing, already strained by disputes over Chinese electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines, EU brandy, and restrictions on rare earth exports.
In recent years, the EU has begun to take a tougher stance on trade issues, introducing a series of bills aimed at better protecting its companies from unfair competition.
The latest measure aims to encourage China to stop discriminating against EU firms and EU-made medical devices, promoting equal openness for EU companies as the EU extends to Chinese companies and products.
