The European Commission said Wednesday it has initiated an investigation into how China procures medical devices in the public market, alleging unfair discrimination against European companies and products.

The commission said it has gathered evidence indicating that China’s procurement market for medical devices has become more closed for European and foreign firms, as well as for products made in the European Union.

The gradual closing of the market is due to measures introduced by China that unfairly differentiate between local and foreign companies and locally produced and imported medical devices, the commission said in a statement. The EC said the investigation aims to rebalance the EU-China trade relationship and promote fair access to both European and Chinese public procurement markets.

“We are launching this investigation with China so that we can achieve a level playing field in our procurement markets for producers of medical devices, on both sides. Regrettably, our repeated discussions with China on this trade irritant have been fruitless,” said EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.

The investigation is being launched under the commission’s International Procurement Instrument, a tool established by the EU in 2022 to encourage reciprocal opening of public procurement markets. The EC said this is the first investigation it has initiated under the IPI.

The commission plans to conclude the investigation within a nine-month period, but may extend it by five months. If the probe finds discriminatory measures exist and China is not offering a satisfactory solution, the commission said it may adopt measures such as excluding bidders from certain tenders in the EU or adjusting scores in the selection process that lower the chance of winning a bid.

The commission said it could suspend the investigation if China commits to taking corrective actions. The EC will make a report on the findings and next steps available to the public and present it to the European Parliament and Council when the investigation and consultations are concluded.

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