After a spate of health scares that have led to mounting anxiety
over the safety of Chinese exports, a top official yesterday said
China is a responsible country and always puts the safety of
consumers first.
"We pay a great deal of attention to consumer safety," said Li
Chuanqing, vice-minister of the General Administration of Quality
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, which is in charge of
ensuring the safety of the country's exports.
Li told the International Consumer Product Safety Conference in
Beijing that the government has been working hard to protect
product quality and people's health.
Chinese firms have been involved in a number of product safety
scandals recently. The administration confirmed earlier this month
that two companies had exported pet food with melamine-contaminated
wheat gluten and rice protein, which was blamed for the deaths of
dogs and cats in the United States.
Li, while not directly addressing any of the recent cases, said
that it was important China works with the rest of the world to
deal with the quality problems.
He said China is the largest exporter of consumer products in
the world, but more than half the exports are products processed
according to investors' samples and specifications. "If designers
and importers fail to provide accurate information and
requirements, it could cause product safety problems as well," he
said.
Figures from the Ministry of Commerce show that export volume
reached a record high of $969 billion last year, with consumer
products accounting for a large share.
Nancy Nord, acting chairwoman of the US Consumer Product Safety
Commission, said Washington would get tough on consumer product
safety.
She said the new Democrat-controlled Congress is very interested
in how her agency addresses the issue of imported consumer
products.
Mark Dewar, a board member of the conference's co-host, the
International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization, said
despite a number of safety problems, international consumers'
confidence in made-in-China products has greatly increased in
recent years because of improved quality.
He said it was progress that Beijing is hosting the
international consumer product safety conference. "They are hosting
this conference ... They want to listen to how the leading
countries are doing this."
(China Daily May 22, 2007)