'Misunderstanding' leads to Canada purchasing unqualified masks from Chinese company: Chinese Embassy

Global Times

Source:Global Times Published: 2020/4/26 18:18:29

The Chinese Embassy in Canada said that a misunderstanding existed over what Toronto was purchasing and what a Chinese vendor was selling in response to a report by Canadian media alleging that face masks from China failed to meet the proper standards of healthcare professionals.

The embassy said it has verified the facts with the city of Toronto, and the relevant official clearly stated that there was a misunderstanding between what the city was purchasing and what the vendor was selling, the embassy said in a statement on Saturday.

A report by Toronto-based Globe and Mail claimed there were quality problems in the face masks that the Canadian government had purchased from China. They "have failed to meet proper standards for health care professionals and will not be distributed to provinces or cities," the newspaper wrote.

The Chinese Embassy in Canada suggested that the media should clarify the facts first before reporting, as many issues related to unqualified masks were actually caused by mismatching or misuse of the masks.

The embassy said it is checking with the Global Affairs Canada and the Public Health Agency to verify the issue.

"If individual problems occur in the process of anti-epidemic cooperation, it should be resolved in a practical and realistic manner rather than being interpreted politically," the embassy noted.

Issues related to the quality of face masks continue to be used as a tool for some foreign forces to smear China's aid efforts in the pandemic, with some deliberately connecting the commercial issue to politics.

Amid the growing demand for material supplies as the pandemic wreaks havoc worldwide, China has rolled out rigorous regulatory measures to crack down on unqualified exports of medical supplies to other countries and regions and the production of protective products inside the country.

Gan Lin, deputy director of the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration, said at a press conference on Sunday that China will continue to maintain the pressure in cracking down on the manufacture and sale of counterfeit and shoddy protective products.

The authority will make sure lawbreakers who endanger people's lives and health and those who disrupt market order will pay the price, Gan said.

As of Friday, China's national market regulators had confiscated 89.046 million problematic masks and 418,000 units of other protective equipment.

In a case reported by Shenzhen customs, its subsidiary Bao'an airport customs authorities on April 18 seized 30,000 medical facial masks which were labeled as masks for non-medical purposes. After verification, it emerged that the export company did not obtain a medical device product export registration certificate, and the enterprise was suspected of false reporting in order to evade inspection.

According to an announcement on the website of the Ministry of Commerce on Saturday, all non-medical masks must meet Chinese or foreign quality standards before being exported.

Meanwhile, exporters have to file for a written declaration that their medical products meet the quality standards and safety requirements of the destination countries or regions, according to the ministry.