Chinese firms warn EU procurement curb could hurt trade ties

BEIJING – A Chinese business lobby group warned that EU actions to curb access of the country’s medical device makers to government contracts in the bloc will hurt trade ties.

The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU expressed “profound disappointment” over the EU’s use of a trade tool to limit Chinese companies’ participation in public procurements, according to a statement from the Chinese group on June 2.

“

Its targeted application against Chinese enterprises

sends a troubling signal – not only adding new complexity to China-EU economic and trade relations, but also contradicting the EU’s stated principles of openness, fairness, and non-discrimination in market access,” said the organisation, whose members include the Bank of China, Cosco Shipping Holdings and BYD.

The dispute threatens to add another irritant to relations just as Beijing seeks to shore up ties with the EU, positioning itself as a more reliable partner as US President Donald Trump

alienates the bloc over issues from tariffs to defence. 

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao is due to meet with EU trade officials early in June in Paris, where he may address the bloc’s trade grievances, including a lack of fair access to China’s own procurement market. European leaders will travel to Beijing for a summit in July with their Chinese counterparts. 

The EU curb represented the first use of its International Procurement Instrument, a 2022 law that’s meant to promote reciprocity in access to public procurement markets.

It allows the EU’s executive arm to impose various restrictions on firms seeking to participate in procurements, ranging from score adjustments in tenders to an outright ban from contracts.

The EU launched an investigation into China’s procurement of medical devices in April 2024, with the probe finding in January that Beijing discriminated against foreign firms. Consultations failed to find alternative solutions, Bloomberg previously reported.

The Chinese commerce chamber argued that market reciprocity must be based on “an accurate understanding of historical and practical realities”. 

“For years, European medical device companies have enjoyed significant access to the Chinese market, playing a key role in supporting the modernisation of China’s healthcare system and achieving substantial growth,” it said.

“The EU’s current decision fails to acknowledge this context and undermines the spirit of balanced engagement and mutual benefit.” BLOOMBERG