Wen Guicheng, the vice general manager of the Hubei V-Medical Products Company, a manufacturer of caps, masks and gloves based in the southwestern suburbs of Wuhan in central China, said that his company was trying to avoid delays by speaking with customs officials before exporting more goods.

Noah Blake, a respirator trader in Shanghai, said that one of his shipments had already been delayed by the new rule, but added that the new regulation would help make sure that public health agencies and consumers could count on medical supplies imported from China.

The new rules might also help some factories export what they make.

Beijing’s initial response two weeks ago to quality complaints was to require that factories producing medical supplies be certified by the government before they could export their goods. That policy caused export delays at many factories that previously manufactured everything from winches to cranes but suddenly switched to making medical equipment after the lockdown of Wuhan on Jan. 23.

Those factories typically do not have medical certification from Beijing, which can take months to obtain.

If these factories are now allowed to export medical supplies that pass quality inspections, then that could allow many more companies in China to export products needed to fight the pandemic.

The customs agency announcement on Friday did not specify whether the new mandate was in addition to the requirement for factory certification or instead of it.