NEW DELHI: India and China have moved on to other forms of cooperation to combat COVID-19 after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) cancelled orders of Chinese preliminary testing kits that were allegedly defective.
The cancellation also put an end to the controversy over an opportunistic markup, of over 60 per cent, by two Indian companies which imported the rapid testing kits for supplying them to ICMR. It was a court case between the two warring companies that brought this huge markup to public view.
Sources said India will continue to depend on China heavily, despite indigenous attempts to manufacture inexpensive rapid-testing kits, ventilators and personal protection equipment (PPE).
To remain relevant to global relief efforts, through its position as the primary supplier of COVID antibiotics and preventive medicine, India will have to depend on China as it supplies almost 90 per cent of the raw material.
The Chinese embassy here had tried to salvage the reputation of the two suppliers of antibody rapid test kits by putting forth a variety of explanations after there were embarrassing variations in tests. India, however, is not too worried after energetic diplomatic footwork enabled a South Korean company to begin the production of rapid testing kits in India. The production capacity of the company, SD Biosensor, can be ramped up to produce five lakh kits every week if the need arises.
The Chinese, after a spirited fight-back, where they first suggested that Indians are at fault and then mooted consultations with the manufacturers, may have fallen silent because similar reports have erupted from other countries, suggested sources.
Beijing has claimed that the rapid testing kits supplied by two Chinese companies and certified by a Chinese regulator received no adverse reports except those from India. However, sources referred to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s compilation of the list of countries that have expressed dissatisfaction with Chinese kits to combat this claim. According to Tharoor, the kits had a 30 per cent accuracy in the badly-hit Spain, 35 per cent in Turkey and 40 per cent in the Philippines, while Italy and the Netherlands have stopped testing with them.
Chinese embassy spokesperson Ji Rong, however, took exception to brand all Chinese products as faulty.
“Regarding the current issue occurred, we hope the Indian side could respect China’s goodwill and sincerity, strengthen communication timely with relevant Chinese companies based on facts, and resolve it reasonably and properly,’’ she said, indicating that Beijing has stepped out of the picture, leaving the issue to be resolved between ICMR and the two companies.