The 27 delegates agreed yesterday Monday to impose restrictions on Chinese firms’ access to European medical equipment markets in retaliation for measures taken by Peking which restrict European companies’ access to the Chinese market, diplomatic sources informed the French News Agency.

The restrictions proposed by the European Commission – it has not been revealed so far exactly what they will be – are described as proportional to those faced by European companies producing medical equipment and medical devices in the Chinese market, a European diplomatic source explained.

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the EU, however, criticized and expressed its disappointment in a statement about the measure that “will restrict Chinese companies’ access to bidding procedures in public tenders in the medical equipment field for government contracts exceeding 5 million euros for a period of five years.”

The chamber “expresses its deep disappointment at this decision,” it noted in the press release.

The Commission decided in April to start an investigation into the Chinese market specifically regarding public procurement contracts for the supply of medical equipment, suspecting “discriminatory practices” against European companies.

This is the first such procedure under a new mechanism created by the EU in 2022 to gain access to foreign markets.

The European Union notes that public procurement in its member states is open to 95% of competition from the rest of the world, while it complains that European companies have almost no access to Chinese public tenders.