As countries return faulty supplies, China claims to have exported 4 million masks in March

Amid rising concerns about the quality of equipment provided by China to other countries, the country yesterday claimed that they have sold over four billion masks inMarch.

Chinese Customs Official Jin Hai claimed that the country has exported 3.86 billion masks, 37.5 million pieces of protective clothing, 16,000 ventilators and over 2.84 million testing kits since March 1.

Currently, orders from 50 countries have been received by the country.

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Hai further claimed that the export of supplies valued at 10.2 billion Yuan, roughly amounting to USD 1.4 billion.

The Netherlands, the Philippines, Croatia, Turkey, and Spain have recently returned masks and other equipment on account of substandard quality.

Just last week, over 1.3 million masks were shipped to the Netherlands, out of which 600,000 masks were returned.

According to China, the manufacturer, before sending the shipments, had clearly stated that “the masks are non-surgical”.

Additionally, Spain recently sent back thousands of testing kits after finding them faulty.

China hit out to this recently, and claimed that “this did not reflect the full facts”.

"In reality there are various factors, such as China having different standards and different usage habits to other countries. Even improper use can lead to doubts over quality," said Jiang Fan, an official with the Ministry of Commerce.

Another spokesperson, from the Foreign Ministry, Hua Chunying urged the Western media to not “politicise” or “hype up” the issue.

Amid the critique, Beijing has increased regulations for medical equipment set for exports. The administration further claimed plans to ensure licensing standards of both China as well as the countries the supplies were headed.

Currently, China is producing over four million testing kits everyday!

The coronavirus pandemic began in Wuhan, China and has amped up the production of face masks and gloves, with hard-hit countries increasingly running out of supplies.

As of now, over 60,000 have died worldwide!