China university-made test kits being used in Europe

Test kits for COVID-19 developed by Chinese colleges and universities have been exported to more than 10 European countries, including Italy, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, a senior education official said on Tuesday.

Fourteen kinds of test kits developed by five Chinese universities, including Tsinghua University, Sichuan University and Xiamen University, have obtained the CE marking and can enter the European market, said Lei Chaozi, director of the department of science and technology under the Ministry of Education.

West China Hospital of Sichuan University donated testing kits and equipment to the government of Georgia on March 12 to aid its battle against the novel coronavirus, Lei said at a news conference.

"We're more than willing to strengthen international cooperation and make China's contribution to global COVID-19 prevention and control," he said.

A total of 22 colleges and universities have conducted research in developing test kits from different approaches since the outbreak, he said.

Seven kinds of test kits developed through cooperation between schools and enterprises have won approval from the National Medical Products Administration and been put into clinical use in China, he added.