German pharmaceutical industry warns of possible drug shortages from China

Several German states have suspended trips by their quality-control inspectors to Chinese pharmaceutical companies over tightened espionage laws.

Transcript

00:00China has responded to concerns raised by EU businesses over its revised anti-espionage

00:06law, which was broadened to include the transfer of so-called work secrets in February of this

00:12year.

00:14The revised law includes further restrictions on the transfer of data to other parties,

00:19but remains vague as to what kind of data is considered a national security threat by

00:24China's government.

00:29Concerns surrounding the law is particularly prevalent in the pharmaceutical industry,

00:33as foreign businesses are afraid of making any attempts to certify manufacturing sites

00:38in China.

00:41The German Medicines Manufacturers Association recently said many of their inspectors refuse

00:47to visit and inspect production sites in China over fears of arrest for spying under the

00:53law.

00:57But China says it's committed to providing foreign business with a market-orientated

01:02and law-based environment.

01:09China is a major supplier of drugs to the EU, and these new restrictions risk exacerbating

01:29the disruption of supply chains.