Brussels – The European Commission aims to strengthen the presence of European medical device manufacturers on the Chinese market by facilitating new business contacts with local buyers. The initiative forms part of the commitments made during the second meeting of the Trade and Investment Consultations (TIC) between the European Union and China and will take the form of a matchmaking event organised as part of the ninth edition of the China International Import Expo (CIIE).
The event aims to bring European companies in the sector into direct contact with potential Chinese buyers, with the aim of turning institutional dialogue into concrete commercial opportunities. EU companies will have the opportunity to showcase their products and take part in bilateral meetings with interested stakeholders, paving the way for new commercial relationships and wider distribution of European medical devices in China.
The programme also includes a discussion session between government representatives and businesses, during which the policies and regulations affecting foreign suppliers of medical devices on the Chinese market will be outlined. The meeting will also serve to initiate a direct dialogue between the authorities and European companies on market access conditions and opportunities for the sector.
The initiative follows on from the commitments announced as part of the TIC consultations, which aim to increase imports into China of medical devices manufactured in the European Union. For Brussels, the aim is to ensure that trade relations with Beijing are not limited to diplomatic dialogue, but yield tangible benefits for European businesses.
The initiative can be seen as a step forward compared with trade relations in the healthcare sector that existed between the EU and China at the start of 2025, when Beijing continued to impose unjustified restrictions on “Made in the EU” health and healthcare products, closing its market to European medical equipment and devices, and the European Commission threatened strong-arm responses. “We are ready to take decisive action to defend a level playing field and uphold fair competition,” assured Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioner for Trade. In other words, the EU was ready for a new chapter in the tariff war initiated with the People’s Republic of China and brought before the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Today’s news, however, marks one of the achievements of last October’s TIC, where Wang Wentao, China’s Minister of Commerce, and Maroš Šefčovič, European Commissioner for Economic and Trade Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency, “held pragmatic and productive discussions and agreed on a list of outcomes and understandings.”
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
