A worker produces face masks at a factory in Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu Province on Tuesday. Photo: cnsphotos

The failure of European buyers and their middlemen to clearly state their needs, combined with insufficient knowledge of the Chinese face mask industry, may have led to the imports of masks that have been categorized as "substandard," industry insiders said on Sunday after the EU suspended delivery of 10 million Chinese masks.

Al Jazeera reported on Thursday that Poland and the Netherlands complained about the quality of the masks they had received, without clarifying when the masks were imported. According to the report, a Polish official said the masks didn't have European certificates and couldn't meet medical standards required for their distribution.

However, Chen Lianjie, an executive at Zhejiang Kanglidi Medical Articles Co, told the Global Times on Sunday that this may reflect the shortcomings of foreign purchasers and their middlemen failing to clearly explain their requirements, as civilian masks, medical masks and N95 respirators have different standards.

Foreign buyers may have purchased civilian masks for medical use, Chen said. His company has exported tens of millions of medical masks to the EU since the outbreak of the COVID-19, noting that the company has strict quality control procedures.

"Take melt-blown fabric, for example. We conduct filtration tests immediately after purchasing our raw material and we will return the whole batch if it can't meet our standards," he said.

Cao Haochun, founder of Weini Technology Development Co (Weini), based in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, told the Global Times that foreign purchasers should pay more attention to identifying and cooperating with qualified mask manufacturers in China.

Weini has been making masks and protective clothing for over 20 years, mostly for export markets, and it obtained the CE certification from the EU years ago.

Amid foreign complaints about the quality of made-in-China medical supplies, Chinese authorities have strengthened product quality supervision since late March, requiring exporters to obtain China's medical equipment registration certificates and meet either Chinese or foreign quality standards.

From March 1 to May 16, China exported medical supplies worth 134.4 billion yuan ($18.93 billion), including 50.9 billion masks, 216 million protective outfits and 162 million COVID-19 test kits, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Sunday.

The administration stressed on the same day that it would continue to crack down on illegal exports of medical products to ensure quality.


Newspaper headline: European mask buyers ‘don’t clearly state needs’