Product safety: Beijing trying to avoid a trade war with the United States
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – China will send two delegations to the United States over the next month to discuss joint measures the two governments can take to improve inspections and safety. In doing so the Chinese want to stop its trading partner from adopting protectionist steps in the wake of the recent toxic toys scandal. However, despite Beijing’s promises of tougher controls, many slam the Chinese government for allowing the sale of goods that they knew were toxic.
“China will step up monitoring of the production by exporters and quality control,” said Wang Xinpei, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, during a press conference today in Beijing. “China has exported 300,000 shipments of toys so far, export value topping US$ 7 billion last year. Only 29 recalls were issued, making that one part in 10,000.'”
“Most of China's toy exports are safe,” Mr Wang said. “It's irresponsible to criticise the overall quality of China's exports” based on a handful of incidents.
But such claims have not had much of an impact. Mattel, the largest US toy company, this week recalled 18.2 million toys worldwide, 9.5 million in the United States, including Barbie, Polly Pocket and Batman Magma which contain lead paint (three times US levels) and small magnets that children can swallow.
Mattel, which imports 65 per cent of its products from China, announced a radical shift in its quality controls procedures. It also said that it had instituted a phone and e-mail helpline to provide consumers with information.
Several international news agencies quoted the China Toy Association saying that it was aware of the problem with lead in paint as long ago as March but did not take any action.
This year in the United States, 60 per cent of all product recalls by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission were Chinese-made, including vitamins, chocolate, toys and food, New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer said.
Senator Dick Durbin accused China of having "lax safety standards,” demanding the United States “temporarily detain and inspect all shipments of children's products from China that contain paint.”
Senator Christopher J. Dodd yesterday called on US President Bush to immediately freeze all imports from China.
In what some say is retaliation, China has now banned imports of pork from several US suppliers, claiming that the meat may contain a banned growth hormone, ractopamine, which is certified for use in the US, but is banned in China.
A Chinese Embassy official in Washington, first secretary Zhao Baoqing, yesterday in a press briefing said that his government could inspect each shipment of US food to China, starting September 1.
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