China has confiscated more than 89 million poor-quality face masks, an official said yesterday, as Beijing faces a slew of complaints about faulty protective gear exported worldwide.
Demand for protective equipment has soared as nations battle the deadly coronavirus, which has infected over 2.9 million people.
However, a number of countries have complained about faulty masks and other products exported by China, mostly for use by medical workers and vulnerable groups.
As of last Friday, China's market regulators had inspected nearly 16 million businesses and seized more than 89 million masks and 418,000 pieces of protective gear, said Ms Gan Lin, deputy director of the State Administration of Market Regulation, at a press briefing.
Regulators also seized ineffective disinfectants worth over 7.6 million yuan (S$1.5 million).
It is not clear how much of the confiscated goods were destined for markets abroad.
In an effort to eliminate poor-quality products, China released new rules last Saturday stating that even non-medical masks must meet both national and international quality standards.
Exporters must file a written declaration that their medical products meet the safety requirements of the destination country, the ministry of commerce said.
The tighter rules come after several countries, including Spain, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Turkey were forced to recall hundreds of thousands of shoddy masks and pieces of protective gear imported from China.
Canada the previous week said about one million face masks bought from China failed to meet proper standards for medical professionals. Dutch health officials the previous month recalled over half a million Chinese masks after complaints that they did not close over the face properly, or had defective filters.
According to official figures, China's daily mask production has exceeded 116 million. In the first two months of the year, a staggering 8,950 new manufacturers started producing masks in China, according to business data platform Tianyancha.
Despite the crackdown, businesses were continuing with illicit production of medical equipment since it was a way to earn "quick money", Mr Jin Hai, a Chinese Customs official, said. Over 31.6 million faulty masks and 509,000 protective suits destined for export had been seized by officials as of mid-April.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE