China exporting faulty medical equipment as manufacturing rebounds: report

China’s manufacturing rebounded in March now that Beijing began opening factories following the easing of anti-coronavirus measures, and the Netherlands became the latest nation to reject medical gear made in the country because of concerns over shoddy equipment, according to reports.

The ruling Communist Party is trying to revitalize the world’s second-largest economy after it said the country has emerged from the pandemic since the initial outbreak in the city of Wuhan in December, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

An index issued by the Chinese statistics bureau and the official China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing rose to 52 from February’s low of 35.7 on a 100-point scale.

But the two associations cautioned that the economy has a way to go as Chinese companies rebuild supply chains and health officials watch for a second wave of the virus and a possible global recession.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands joined Spain, Turkey, Georgia and the Czech Republic in rejecting China-made medical gear, claiming the items were substandard and questioning their quality as the number of global coronavirus cases passes 826,000, according to Fox News.

The Dutch health ministry said over the weekend that it had to recall 600,000 masks shipped from China on March 21 because they were faulty.

“Health care workers have been informed and told not to use the masks. Due to the shortages, we can find ourselves in a situation where only protective equipment is available that does not meet the highest standards,” the health ministry said in a statement. “This is an issue in all countries.”

The Netherlands has 12,662 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.