A day after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) announced to stop using rapid antibody testing kits made by two Chinese firms as they failed quality checks, China on Tuesday expressed concern about the Indian medical body’s decision, saying their products meet quality standards and are exported to many other countries.
“The quality of medical products exported from China is prioritised. It is unfair and irresponsible for certain individuals to label Chinese products as ‘faulty’ and look at issues with pre-emptive prejudice,” Chinese embassy spokesperson Ji Rong said in a statement issued early on Tuesday.
“We are deeply concerned with the evaluation results and the decision made by Indian Council of Medical Research. China attaches great importance to the quality of exported medical products,” she added.
The statement came hours after the ICMR said state governments should stop using the rapid antibody testing kits from Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics after several states questioned the efficacy of the kits.
ALSO READ: COVID-19 LIVE | Total number of cases in India cross the 29,000-mark; death toll climbs to 934
Rong further said that both Wondfo and Livzon had clarified that their testing kits had been certified by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), meet the quality standards China and importing countries, and had also been validated and approved by ICMR through the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune.
She further added that 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”.
India had placed orders for hundreds of thousands of testing kits and millions of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits with Chinese firms. The ICMR stressed in a statement issued on Monday that rapid antibody testing kits should be used only for surveillance.
The ICMR clarified that it had not made any payments so far for the supplies and the government wouldn’t incur any losses from the cancellation of the orders.
Meanwhile, Wondfo said in a statement, said, “We are currently investigating the ICMR’s concerns with our products and will share more information when it becomes available.”