China slams second guessing of its medical supply export motivations

China’s sincere efforts to help others fight COVID-19 by facilitating purchases of made-in-China medical supplies should be respected, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday, adding that any political interpretation of the moves should be avoided.

The remarks came after media reports said some countries raised concerns over the quality of the Chinese supplies, or questioned the motives of the country’s efforts to help others.

Hua said many countries have recently purchased Chinese medical supplies as the contagion spreads worldwide, and Chinese enterprises are working round-the-clock to produce products that help protect people’s lives in many countries.

“While guaranteeing domestic supply, we support qualified and reputable companies to export medical supplies and we also provide convenience in terms of manufacturing, transport and customs clearance,” she told reporters at a regular news conference in Beijing.

Some countries have made order requests via diplomatic channels, Hua said, and the ministry has recommended qualified companies to communicate with foreign purchasing agents.

“As far as I know, no quality problems were reported concerning materials purchased through the above-mentioned channels,” Hua said.

As for quality problems reportedly with Chinese supplies to certain countries, our embassies in those countries have carried out verifications and provided immediate responses, she said.

The spokeswoman provided several examples.

In Slovakia, inaccurate results of rapid detection kits purchased from China were due to medical personnel misusing antigen test kits.

As for the so-called defective masks that the Dutch government purchased from China, the fact is that some masks purchased by the Netherlands through its own agency from China are not adequate for intensive care unit staff and the Dutch Ministry of Health is considering whether they can be used by medical staff with lower protective needs.

Both the Slovak and Dutch sides have expressed appreciation for China’s help and support in exporting medical supplies, Hua said.

The Philippine Department of Health also clarified on Sunday that the quality of the test kits donated to the country by China are “on par” with those from the World Health Organization.

“We do our utmost efforts to help countries and people in need, as well as save lives and maintain the health of people in other countries as much as possible,” she said.

“We hope relevant parties regard China’s participation in international anti-epidemic cooperation and assistance to other countries in an objective way, and do more that is helpful for international cooperation.”

Hua added that some of the medical supplies that China received from other countries at the beginning of the outbreak also failed to meet required quality standards.

“Our choice at that time was to believe and respect their goodwill,” she said.