The Chinese authorities announced yesterday that China has sold, since the beginning of last March, 3.86 billion masks to foreign countries dealing with the emerging corona virus, while seeking to allay fears about the quality of its exports of medical supplies.

Despite the decline in the number of injuries on its soil, Beijing encouraged factories to increase production of medical supplies, while other countries are facing shortages.

China Customs has exported, since the beginning of last March, 3.86 billion masks, 37.5 million protective suits, 16,000 respirators, and 2.84 million devices to detect infections with "Corona", to more than 50 countries, and these exports were valued at 10.2 million yuan (1.33 billion euros).

But some countries complained about the quality of Chinese medical equipment, and in this context, the Netherlands announced, on March 28, that it had returned 600,000 masks in a shipment that arrived from China, because it did not meet the quality standards.

China replied that the manufacturer had clearly stated that the masks were not for surgical use.

Also, at the end of March, Spain returned thousands of invalid scanners, after having received them from a Chinese company that had not obtained the required licenses.

Yesterday, Chinese officials responded to press information related to the quality of Chinese medical equipment, stressing that it "does not reflect the facts."

"There are in fact several factors, such as that China has standards and usage habits that differ from other countries," said Jiang Fan, the official with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

This statement intersects with the statement made by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Shunying last week, knowing that she repeatedly asked Western media not to "politicize" the issue or "make a fuss" about it. And China has tightened the rules related to the export of medical equipment for the virus "Corona", so that the products meet the Chinese standards and those adopted by importing countries.

China tightens export rules for medical equipment for the "Corona" virus.