The European Commission launched a probe into China’s public procurement of medical devices on Wednesday, the latest in a series of moves that ratchet up trade tensions ahead of President Xi Jinping’s visit to Europe next month.
The probe is the first under the EU International Procurement Instrument, which aims to promote reciprocity in access to international public procurement markets, following long-running complaints from European companies and governments over access to the Chinese market. With the EU flexing its trade muscles, this investigation follows the launch in October of a major probe into cheaper Chinese electric vehicle.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lobbied for better market access for German firms in China in talks with Xi this month. The EU should “stop using all kinds of excuses to suppress and restrict Chinese enterprises for no reason”, he said.U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned China that Washington would not accept new industries being “decimated” by Chinese imports. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday, with trade issues high on the agenda.
The EU official journal listed a number of ways in which the Commission suspected China was unfairly favouring Chinese bidders for medical devices, including a “Buy China” policy, restrictions on imports and conditions leading to abnormally low bids that profit-oriented companies could not offer.