China hit back at the European Union’s restrictions on its medical device makers while maintaining key exceptions, adding uncertainty to ties ahead of a high-stakes summit later this month.

The EU will seek to rebalance economic ties with China, demanding it eases market access for European firms and loosen export controls on rare earths at a summit this month, the bloc's chief said on Tuesday (Jul 8).

China will also restrict imports of medical devices from other countries that contain EU-made components worth more than 50% of the contract value.