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Coronavirus Canada
ChinaDiplomacy

Coronavirus: Chinese embassy in Canada to investigate claims 1 million N95 masks were substandard

  • China ‘has always placed emphasis on the quality of its exports’, mission says, as it ask for matter not to be politicised
  • Canada’s Public Health Agency earlier rejected the masks, saying they were not fit for use by frontline workers

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China has been accused by several countries of supplying substandard face masks and other medical equipment. Photo: AP
Phoebe Zhang
The Chinese embassy in Canada says it will investigate claims made by Ottawa that about 1 million KN95 face masks bought from China failed to meet federal Covid-19 standards for use by frontline health professionals, but appealed for the incident not to become politicised.

After reading about the incident in the media, the embassy said in a notice on its website on Saturday that it had contacted Canada’s Public Health Agency and its minister for foreign affairs to confirm the reports.

“China has always placed emphasis on the quality of its exports, and the government has placed stricter supervision on medical equipment,” it said.

“If specific issues arise during cooperation to fight the virus, we should solve them with a matter-of-fact attitude, instead of giving politicised interpretations.”

China and Canada had been supportive of each other since the coronavirus outbreak began, the notice said.

Canada had bought medical equipment from China through many channels and China had provided assistance and convenience, it said.

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