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Coronavirus: China backs free trade in masks despite shortages
- Chinese commerce official Li Xingqian suggests Beijing will not limit exports of the protective equipment
- South Korea joins Taiwan, Germany and Russia in restricting overseas sales of products
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China, the world’s biggest maker of medical masks, signalled on Thursday that it would not limit exports of the product, saying it would abide by free trade and market principles.
Li Xingqian, director of the foreign trade department at the Ministry of Commerce, said China had not banned the export of masks or related materials during the coronavirus epidemic, despite other countries imposing such limits.
“Masks are freely traded products … companies can trade them in line with market principles,” Li said.
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Li’s statement came as various other economies, including South Korea, Taiwan, Germany and Russia, restricted exports of medical equipment over fears of shortages to cope with the epidemic, which has spread to more than 70 countries.
His comments pointed to Beijing’s growing confidence in its mask production capacity, after severe shortages in late January and early February.
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As of Saturday, China’s daily output of masks, including surgical masks and medical N95 masks, was 116 million units, or 12 times the output at the start of February, the country’s top economic planning agency said on Monday.
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