EU–China › Optical, medical & precision instruments
EU–China trade in optical, medical & precision instruments
In May 2026, the EU exported €1.1B of optical, medical & precision instruments to China and imported €1.3B — a €287M deficit in this category.
The EU's optical, medical & precision instruments deficit with China has widened by about 154% over the past year, from €113M to €287M.
China supplied about 18% of the EU's extra-EU imports of optical, medical & precision instruments in May 2026.
Updated monthly · latest data May 2026
— EU exports— EU imports137 months · latest 2026-05
EU exports
€1.1B
EU imports
€1.3B
Balance
−€287M
Top sub-categories traded with China
EU exports →
- 9031Measuring or checking instruments, appliances and machines not elsewhere specified in chapter 90; profile projectors€194M
- 9018Instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences, incl. scintigraphic apparatus, other electro-medical apparatus and sight-testing instruments, n.e.s.€151M
- 9021Orthopaedic appliances, incl. crutches, surgical belts and trusses; splints and other fracture appliances; artificial parts of the body; hearing aids and other appliances which are worn or carried, or implanted in the body, to compensate for a defect or disability€132M
- 9027Instruments and apparatus for physical or chemical analysis, e.g. polarimeters, refractometers, spectrometers, gas or smoke analysis apparatus; instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking viscosity, porosity, expansion, surface tension or the like; instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking quantities of heat, sound or light, incl. exposure meters; microtomes€125M
- 9022Apparatus based on the use of X-rays or of alpha, beta or gamma radiations, whether or not for medical, surgical, dental or veterinary uses, incl. radiography or radiotherapy apparatus, X-ray tubes and other X-ray generators, high tension generators, control panels and desks, screens, examination or treatment tables, chairs and the like€84M
← EU imports
- 9018Instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences, incl. scintigraphic apparatus, other electro-medical apparatus and sight-testing instruments, n.e.s.€271M
- 9019Mechano-therapy appliances; massage apparatus; psychological aptitude-testing apparatus; ozone therapy, oxygen therapy, aerosol therapy, artificial respiration or other therapeutic respiration apparatus€111M
- 9031Measuring or checking instruments, appliances and machines not elsewhere specified in chapter 90; profile projectors€105M
- 9021Orthopaedic appliances, incl. crutches, surgical belts and trusses; splints and other fracture appliances; artificial parts of the body; hearing aids and other appliances which are worn or carried, or implanted in the body, to compensate for a defect or disability€97M
- 9001Optical fibres and optical fibre bundles; optical fibre cables (excl. made up of individually sheathed fibres of heading 8544); sheets and plates of polarising material; lenses, incl. contact lenses, prisms, mirrors and other optical elements of any material, unmounted (excl. such elements of glass not optically worked)€79M
Monthly figures
| Month | EU exports | EU imports | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | €1.1B | €1.3B | −€287M |
| April 2026 | €1.2B | €1.4B | −€233M |
| March 2026 | €1.4B | €1.4B | €83M |
| February 2026 | €997M | €1.3B | −€282M |
| January 2026 | €987M | €1.4B | −€420M |
| December 2025 | €1.5B | €1.3B | €230M |
| November 2025 | €1.2B | €1.4B | −€209M |
| October 2025 | €1.2B | €1.3B | −€97M |
| September 2025 | €1.3B | €1.4B | −€25M |
| August 2025 | €1.1B | €1.3B | −€185M |
| July 2025 | €1.2B | €1.4B | −€171M |
| June 2025 | €1.4B | €1.3B | €88M |
| May 2025 | €1.2B | €1.3B | −€113M |
| April 2025 | €1.2B | €1.3B | −€74M |
| March 2025 | €1.5B | €1.4B | €64M |
| February 2025 | €1.2B | €1.2B | €24M |
| January 2025 | €940M | €1.5B | −€549M |
| December 2024 | €1.3B | €1.2B | €119M |
| November 2024 | €1.2B | €1.3B | −€57M |
| October 2024 | €1.2B | €1.4B | −€201M |
| September 2024 | €1.4B | €1.3B | €66M |
| August 2024 | €1.2B | €1.3B | −€88M |
| July 2024 | €1.3B | €1.3B | €0.9M |
| June 2024 | €1.4B | €1.2B | €221M |
EU exports, imports and balance by month — extra-EU, EU27 reporter, latest 24 months.
Related trade lanes
Source: Eurostat — Comext DS-059341 · EU27 reporter · extra-EU trade · value in EUR. Figures are indicative and may be revised; verify against Eurostat before relying on them.