China’s finance ministry said on Sunday it was restricting government purchases of medical devices from the European Union that exceed 45 million Chinese yuan ($6.3 million) in value, in retaliation to Brussels’ own curbs last month.
Tensions between Beijing and Brussels have been rising, with the European Union imposing tariffs on China-built electric vehicles and Beijing slapping duties on imported brandy from the bloc.
The European Union said last month it was barring Chinese companies from participating in EU public tenders for medical devices worth €60 billion ($70 billion) or more per year after concluding that EU firms were not given fair access in China.