China will impose retaliatory measures on Sunday, limiting government purchases of certain medical products from European Union (EU) companies, China’s Ministry of Finance said, Bloomberg reports.

The restrictions will apply if the purchase price exceeds 45 million yuan (about US$6.3 million). But the new measures will not apply to products manufactured in China by companies with European investments, China’s Ministry of Commerce clarified.

Beijing took such steps after the EU announced plans to restrict Chinese medical equipment manufacturers from government purchases worth more than 5 million euros ($5.7 million). According to European officials, this will affect about 60%, or about 150 billion euros, of government spending in this domain. In addition, European authorities want to limit the share of components from China to a maximum of 50% when submitting successful bids.

According to the European Commission, Chinese exports of medical products to the EU more than doubled between 2015 and 2023.

The new restrictions are another sign of growing trade tensions between China and Europe. Last week, it was reported that Beijing plans to reduce a two-day summit with EU leaders to one day. Also, China announced anti-dumping duties on European brandy, except for major brandy producers who have agreed to minimum price levels. The moves follow the EU’s decision to impose tariffs of up to 45% on Chinese electric vehicles.

European countries have repeatedly criticized China for overproduction, unfair subsidies, and restricting foreign companies’ access to its domestic market in sectors such as metalworking.