BEIJING - Chinese officials have begun inspecting every shipment of N95 respirators, ventilators and other medical supplies for quality issues before export, a policy likely to delay the arrival of critical gear at hospitals around the world that are struggling to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
Chinese officials have countered that many of these complaints involved industrial respirators that were purchased for medical use but were not designed to meet those standards. The Chinese customs agency said onFriday that it would assess the quality of medical supplies before export, adding to the checks that exporters already face.
Noah Blake, a respirator trader in Shanghai, said that one of his shipments had already been delayed by the new rule but added that the new regulation would help make sure that public health agencies and consumers could count on medical supplies imported from China.Beijing's initial response two weeks ago to quality complaints was to require that factories producing medical supplies be certified by the government before they could export their goods.
As China appears to have brought the virus mostly under control within its borders, it has ramped up exports of safety gear for medical workers fighting the outbreak.