China 'deeply concerned' on ICMR's decision

New Delhi, April 28: China on Tuesday has expressed concern over the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) decision to stop using rapid antibody testing kits produced by two Chinese firms, saying that the quality of medical products exported from China is 'prioritized'. They also stated that it's 'unfair and irresponsible' for certain individuals to label Chinese products as ‘faulty’ and look at issues with pre-emptive prejudice,

 

 

The ICMR on Monday asked states and union territories to stop using the test kits procured from the Chinese companies — Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics — due to 'wide variations' in their performance. “We are deeply concerned with the evaluation results and the decision made by the Indian Council of Medical Research. China attaches great importance to the quality of exported medical products,” Chinese embassy Spokesperson Ji Rong said.

 

The spokesperson also said both Wondfo and Livzon had clarified that their testing kits had been certified by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). "The COVID-19 antibody rapid test kits produced by these two Chinese companies have been exported to and well recognized in many countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America," Rong further said.

 

Ji further said Beijing hopes New Delhi “could respect China’s goodwill and sincerity, strengthen communication timely with relevant Chinese companies based on facts, and resolve [the matter] reasonably and properly.” Besides that, China has emerged as a key supplier of test kits for the detection of the SARS-CoV2 virus that causes COVID-19 for the world.

 

India procured around 500,000 rapid antibody test kits from the two Chinese firms nearly two weeks back and they were distributed to several states reporting rising cases of the coronavirus infection. However, the ICMR decision came after several states raised concerns over the performance of tests during the exercise that they undertook. Meanwhile, the Central government on Monday said that all orders of the testing kits for Coronavirus made to the Chinese firms have been canceled, asserting that no payment has been made to these companies.