The government will continue its battle against shoddy products
this year by speeding up legislation and framing 10,000 national
quality standards.
Four quality control regulations will be drafted, including one
on the import and export of food products and another on the recall
of defective products.
Four existing laws, including the Law on Entry and Exit Animal
and Plant Quarantine, will also be amended to ensure the
effectiveness of new policies, Li Changjiang, minister of the
General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and
Quarantine (AQSIQ), told a meeting on Friday.
His work plan for this year also includes the drawing up of
10,000 national standards and the revision of more than 9,500
outdated ones. The total number of national quality standards will
reach 31,000 by the end of the year.
Li added that China would adopt more international standards. At
the end of the year, 75 percent of national standards are expected
to reach international levels, compared with the current 60
percent.
In addition, the administration plans to publish a White Paper
on product quality in China.
Tougher measures will be taken to guarantee the quality of
high-risk products such as toys, garments, furniture, paint and
detergent.
Li said the country's crackdown on shoddy products last year had
yielded positive results, but further efforts were required.
"We're facing great challenges, as well as opportunities, as
quality issues are receiving unprecedented high attention from both
the central government and the public," he told more than 200
quality control officers from across the country.
Administration spokesman Liu Deping told China Daily
that the administration would also step up its international
cooperation on product quality issues this year.
He said it plans to hold a high-level international symposium on
product quality in China this year.
Meetings and negotiations are also being arranged with major
trade partners such as the United States, the European Union and
Japan.
The administration on Friday also announced the top 10 product
quality events in China in 2007, including the establishment of a
national leading group on product quality and food safety, the
launch of a nationwide quality campaign, and the recall of about 10
million Chinese-made toys by Mattel, the world's largest
toymaker.
(China Daily January 5, 2008)