Illustration: Luo Xuan/GT

Chinese enterprises should be aware of the standards different countries have imposed on medical supplies when exporting or donating products. 

According to media reports, a few countries including the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey have claimed they have had problems with Chinese pandemic control products, and several other EU countries have rejected medical supplies made in China. 

As the coronavirus pandemic sprawls across the world, demand for medical supplies has been piling up worldwide. Chinese factories have been in full swing and working around the clock to provide products to China and the global population. However, that does not necessarily mean the more they produce the better. Quality is more crucial than quantity. Avoiding quality issues is paramount under the current situation. 

Many manufacturers and even some small workshops in China, in order to address the emergency or to take advantage of soaring demand, have shifted their production lines to make medical supplies such as masks. As many companies try their hand at manufacturing these goods at a time when the world is facing a medical supply production gap, uneven quality will inevitably occur.

For starters, companies which lack experience need to learn the regulations and special standards for medical products in the countries they manufacture for. There are many restrictions and standards in developed countries when it comes to medical gear. Chinese manufacturers must meet those standards. China should also be vigilant about standard and regulation changes in developing countries while exporting or donating pandemic control-related products. 

It is important for Chinese manufacturers to understand and pay attention to this issue. Once unqualified products land in other countries, they could potentially result in increasing risks for local medical workers and citizens as they grapple with the deadly coronavirus. Medical products manufactured by Chinese enterprises can be easily painted in a bad light if such incidents make the news or are pushed by media. Made-in-China's reputation should not be sabotaged by the negligence and greed of a few manufacturers. 

Moreover, Chinese authorities should take actions to prevent unqualified products flowing into the market. China should closely follow investigations in the countries that have had problems with Chinese products and offer necessary support. Countries should make joint efforts to prevent chaos in the supply of medical products. China will not allow certain producers to offload unqualified or defective medical supplies to other countries when they can't be sold on the domestic market. 

The virus knows no borders. Countries worldwide have to stand together to fight the pandemic. 

China supports other countries in controlling the spread of coronavirus with only one purpose: to save lives. It will be difficult to avoid all problems during this unprecedented medical supply international cooperation. But that should not be read through a political lens. Such problems can and should be solved in an apolitical manner, and countries should back each other in conducting investigations through objective eyes.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn