How to become the world’s largest exporter of medical supplies to fight COVID-19 Ⅰ

According to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs, China’s exports of medical materials and medicines increased by 93.6% in the first half of this year, while exports of medicines and medicines by private enterprises increased by 70.8%. Meanwhile, China has exported more than 500 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines and stock solutions to 112 countries and regions.

According to the latest WTO report on global trade in medical supplies, the global trade in medical supplies grew by 16.3% in 2020. China became the largest exporter of key medical products in the fight against COVID-19 in that year, with exports of $105 billion (about 647.2 billion yuan). The world’s three largest traders in such products are China, the United States and Germany.

Global trade in medical supplies increased by 16.3%

Trade in medical goods rose dramatically last year despite a downturn in overall global trade. Global trade in goods fell by 7.6% overall in 2020, while trade in medical supplies grew at a rate of 16.3% compared with 4.7% previously. According to preliminary WTO figures, the total trade in medical products among the world’s 100 economies reached US $2.3430 trillion, which is equivalent to 6.6% of global trade in 2020, compared with 5.3% previously. Although only 1.3 per cent, this is a strong share gain for a relatively small group of products in global trade.

According to WTO, medical products included in the calculation include drugs, masks, gloves, disinfectants, ventilators, medical disinfection and sterilization equipment, hand sanitizer and pulse oximeter, etc. In terms of breakdown, trade volume of medical products in all categories showed significant growth in 2020. Drugs remained the largest category of trade, accounting for more than 50 per cent of the total.

However, the largest share increase was in personal protective equipment (PPP), which rose from 13.7 per cent of total trade in 2019 to 17.4 per cent in 2020. In terms of value of goods, global PPE grew by $130.6 billion in 2020, with trade in face masks increasing by more than 80 per cent.

In 2020, the mask trade totaled $277.7 billion. Among different types of masks, trade in textile masks has increased nearly fivefold. In addition, diagnostic reagents and test kits used to determine the onset of COVID-19 accounted for about 20% of the trade in medical supplies.