Thanks to the effective control of coVID-19 at home and the substantial increase in relevant production capacity, China has become the largest producer and exporter of masks, protective suits and other epidemic prevention products, helping many countries in the world fight against the epidemic. Apart from China, according to published reports by Global Times reporters, not many countries or regions continue to export medical supplies.
The New York Times recently reported that China’s daily production of masks jumped from 10 million in early February to 116 million just four weeks later. According to the report of the General Administration of Customs of The People’s Republic of China, from March 1 to April 4, about 3.86 billion face masks, 37.52 million protective suits, 2.41 million infrared temperature detectors, 16,000 ventilators, 2.84 million cases of novel Coronavirus detection reagent and 8.41 million pairs of goggles were exported nationwide. Officials from the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce also revealed that as of April 4, 54 countries and regions and three international organizations had signed commercial procurement contracts for medical supplies with Chinese enterprises, and another 74 countries and 10 international organizations were conducting commercial procurement negotiations with Chinese enterprises.
In contrast to China’s opening up to the export of medical supplies, more and more countries are imposing restrictions on the export of masks, ventilators and other materials. In a report released at the end of March, the Global Trade Alert Group at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland said 75 countries and territories had imposed export restrictions on medical supplies. In this context, not many countries or regions export medical supplies. According to media reports, 3M of the US recently exported masks to Canada and Latin American countries, and New Zealand also sent planes to Taiwan to carry medical supplies. In addition, some masks and testing kits are also exported from South Korea, Singapore and other countries.
Lin Xiansheng, head of a Medical products manufacturer based in Zhejiang province, told the Global Times on Monday that China’s export share of masks and protective suits is rising globally, with only a small increase in the export of ventilators and other products. “Many medical supplies of multinational companies are labeled with foreign trademarks, but the actual production is still in China.” Mr. Lin said that according to the current supply and demand situation in the international market, China is the absolute main force in the field of medical supplies export.
Post time: Jun-10-2020