Analytics firm GlobalData predicted that about 880,000 more ventilators are in demand globally amid the pandemic.Ventilator manufacturers across the world are running full-steam to meet the surging demand. China, one of the largest ventilator producers, has joined the global fight against COVID-19.

by Xinhua writers He Leijing, Cheng Lu, Zhu Xiao and Qin Huajiang

BEIJING, April 3 -- Chinese ventilator makers are working around the clock to bolster supplies of the life-saving machine as global demand skyrockets due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hospitals around the world have faced a surge of patients with breathing difficulties from the coronavirus, which is sparking a global hunt for ventilators, a kind of medical devices that pump oxygen into the lungs and are essential to save the lives of the sickest.

Analytics firm GlobalData predicted that about 880,000 more ventilators are in demand globally amid the pandemic, with the United States reporting a gap of 75,000 ventilators, while France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain are collectively short of 74,000.

Ventilator manufacturers across the world are running full-steam to meet the surging demand. China, one of the largest ventilator producers, has joined the global fight against COVID-19 by ramping up its production of the life-saving machines.

China has 21 invasive ventilator makers and eight of them have obtained the European Union's compulsory CE marking, according to Xu Kemin, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

"Chinese manufacturers have received orders for about 20,000 ventilators from other countries and have swung into full gear to meet the surging demand in foreign market," Xu said at a press conference on Monday.