Workers of Reinmed Technology make anesthesia masks in Ningbo, East China’s Zhejiang Province on March 30, 2020. Photo: Courtesy of Zhuo Songlei

In efforts to meet the increasing demand for medical materials in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese government and manufacturers are focusing on their efforts to speed up procedures, and one expert noted that when compared with efficiency, quality would remain the most important index.  

A commercial aircraft carrying 80 tons of gloves, face masks, gowns, and other medical supplies from Shanghai landed in New York on Sunday, the first of 22 flights that White House officials told the New York Times would funnel much-needed goods to the US by early April as it battles the world's largest coronavirus outbreak.

The plane delivered 130,000 N95 masks, 1.8 million face masks, gowns, 10 million gloves, and thousands of thermometers to be distributed throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, said Lizzie Litzow, a spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the New York Times reported.

China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a press conference on Monday that both countries should unite to combat COVID-19. 

The US has over 143,000 COVID-19 infections with 2,500 confirmed fatalities as of press time, according to Johns Hopkins University.

"Some provinces and cities and local businesses have already donated medical supplies to the US," said Hua, and added that "China understands the current difficulties the US is facing and stands ready to offer support within our capability."

Reinmed Technology, based in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang Province, which manufacturers medical supplies as anesthesia mask and nasal cannula for oxygen uptake, ramped up production on overseas orders in early March with half of its output exported to the US.

For March, the company has witnessed surging overseas demand for its medical products, 2.5 times the number of newly placed orders during the same month last year, Ren Wei, general manager of Reinmed, told the Global Times on Monday.

"Our products are usually loaded in containers and shipped to the US via sea transportation, which took 30 days to arrive at the destination, but under the current circumstance, our US clients have chosen air freight to save time," said Ren, adding there will be more flights in the coming weeks to collect made-in-China supplies.

Local customs authorities have hastened approval speeds, providing convenient services on relevant procedures such as clearance, Ren said.

"Products are mounting, but the clearance speed is as fast as it ever was," he said.

Customs authorities in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, have been helping local enterprises export COVID-19 antibody detection kits used for primary virus screenings in Europe and Asia.

An inside source told the Global Times on Monday the import and export approval for biological products normally takes 20 days, but considering the urgency Hangzhou Customs has expedited the process, but did not disclose the specific approval time.

Not only for the US but also for many European countries such as Italy and Spain, China has become a "logistics base" in the global fight against the COVID-19, as its production capacity allows it to manufacture spare products to supply others, Bai Ming, deputy director of the Ministry of Commerce's International Market Research Institute, told the Global Times on Monday.  

Domestic demand is still the priority as China is not done fighting against the virus, but based on humanitarian spirit, the Chinese government also works together with the factories to supply what others need as soon as possible, Bai said.

In Wenzhou, the market regulation bureau has established an expert team to facilitate face mask exports from local manufacturers by providing guidance on their technology material and hastening application procedures, according to a report from Wenzhou Daily.

Meanwhile, the local authority has been collaborating with international certificate bodies in terms of technology and talent, helping local firms to obtain the hardcore pass cards for their products to meet global demand including the US' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval or the European CE mark.

"China encourages domestic makers of medical goods and preventive supplies to meet growing overseas demand," Cao Xuejun, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), was quoted as saying in recent media reports. 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce said the country has not implemented a ban on face mask exports.  

The large demand and urgent need could cause imperfections with supplies, so China could speed up procedures, but the quality will always be the pre-condition for exports, Bai stressed. 

"What the Chinese government could do is strictly control the quality, and if necessary, we can just say 'sorry' to some foreign buyers and let them wait in line, rather than let them buy products that have quality issues. The government could guide foreign buyers to reach qualified producers rather than let them blindly seek cheap but unqualified products," Bai noted.