China says it sold nearly four billion face masks abroad

China has sold nearly four billion masks to foreign countries since March, officials said on Sunday, as they tried to stem widespread fears over the quality of medical exports.

Despite Chinese cases dwindling, Beijing has encouraged factories to increase the production of medical supplies as the pandemic kills over 65,000 globally and parts of the world face a protective equipment shortage.

China has exported 3.86 billion masks, 37.5 million pieces of protective clothing, 16,000 ventilators and 2.84 million Covid-19 testing kits since March 1, customs official Jin Hai said, with orders to more than 50 countries.

She added the country's medical supply exports were valued at $1.4 billion.

Beijing slams criticism 

However numerous nations have complained about substandard or faulty medical products shipped from China.

Last week, the Dutch government recalled 600,000 masks out of a Chinese shipment of 1.3 million that did not meet quality standards.

China said the manufacturer "stated clearly that (the masks) are non-surgical."

Spain also rejected thousands of rapid test kits sent by an unauthorised Chinese company after it found that they were unreliable last week.

Chinese officials hit back on Sunday at media reports over defective medical supplies, saying that they "did not reflect the full facts".

"In reality, there are various factors, such as China having different standards and different usage habits to other countries. Even improper use can lead to doubts over quality," said Jiang Fan, an official with the Ministry of Commerce.

The comments echoed remarks from Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, who over the past week has repeatedly urged Western media not to "politicise" or "hype up" the issue.

Earlier this week, Beijing tightened regulations for exported coronavirus medical equipment, requiring products to fulfill both domestic licensing standards and that of their destination countries.

China has also increased its production capacity of Covid-19 testing kits to over four million a day, said Zhang Qi, an official with the National Medical Products Administration.

Months of distress 

The deadly march of the virus has left about half the planet confined to their homes, drastically altering life for billions of people and plunging the global economy into deep recession.

With over 1.2 million people confirmed to be infected, the virus is also putting massive pressure on healthcare services in nations both rich and poor which are struggling to find enough staff and equipment.