Coronavirus: China’s mask-making juggernaut cranks into gear, sparking fears of over-reliance on world’s workshop

China is now making more than 100 million masks a day, up from 20 million before the coronavirus outbreak, and may start to export more to other countries

Mask shortages elsewhere once more raise the debate about an over-reliance on China, with critics pointing to a lack of US industrial policy

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China was producing 116 million masks per day of February 29, including a mix of disposable and high-end masks like the American-designed N95 model worn by President Xi Jinping on his trip on Tuesday to Wuhan. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 1:07pm, 12 Mar 2020Updated: 2:07pm, 16 Mar 2020

The Liu family factory has been making diapers and baby products in the Chinese city of Quanzhou for over 10 years, but in February, for the first time, it started making face masks, as demand soared spectacularly due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The business – which employs 100 people in the Southeastern Fujian province – has added two production lines to make up to 200,000 masks a day.

And while the decision was primarily commercial, “encouragement” from the Chinese government – in the form of subsidies, lower taxes, interest-free loans, fast-track approvals for expansion and help alleviating labour shortages – made the decision an obvious one, said Mr Liu who preferred only to give his family name.

“The government is advocating an expansion in production,” Liu said. “With faster approvals, producers need to prioritise the government’s needs over exports.”

The factory is one of thousands of refitted pop-ups around China making masks and other protective equipment for the first time, part of a massive industrial drive to respond to the spread of the coronavirus.

Before the outbreak, China already made about half the world’s supply of masks, at a rate of 20 million units a day. That rose to 116 million as of February 29, according to China’s state planning agency, a mix of disposable and high-end masks like the American-designed N95 model worn by President Xi Jinping on his trip on Tuesday to Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak.

Coronavirus: China’s mask-making juggernaut cranks into gear, sparking fears of over-reliance on world’s workshop

China is now making more than 100 million masks a day, up from 20 million before the coronavirus outbreak, and may start to export more to other countries Mask shortages elsewhere once more raise the debate about an over-reliance on China, with critics pointing to a lack of US industrial policy

China is now making more than 100 million masks a day, up from 20 million before the coronavirus outbreak, and may start to export more to other countries

Mask shortages elsewhere once more raise the debate about an over-reliance on China, with critics pointing to a lack of US industrial policy