China has begun imposing restrictions on purchases of medical devices from the European Union (EU) worth more than 45 million yuan (RM30 million), in response to Brussels' ban on Chinese firms in the bloc's public tenders.
The move was announced by China's Ministry of Finance on Sunday, just weeks after the EU barred Chinese companies from participating in annual medical device tenders worth more than €60 billion (RM300 billion), on the grounds that European companies were not given fair access to the Chinese market.
In a separate statement, China's Ministry of Commerce said that despite Beijing's sincerity and good intentions, the EU was still taking steps to build new protectionist barriers.
Not stopping there, China has also blocked imports of medical devices from other countries that contain more than 50% EU-made components. However, products manufactured by EU companies operating in China will not be affected by this measure.
The retaliation was announced ahead of an EU-China leaders' summit scheduled to take place in China at the end of July, further escalating trade tensions between the world's third and second largest economies.
Days earlier, on Friday, China also announced a five-year tariff of up to 34.9% on brandy imported from the EU, seen as a response to EU tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
However, cognac giants Pernod Ricard, LVMH and Remy Cointreau were exempted from the duties, provided their products were sold at a minimum price that Chinese authorities have not yet disclosed.
