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US designs faulty, says China
27/08/2007 10:10 - (SA)
Audra Ang
Beijing - China strongly defended the quality of its exports on Monday, saying some problems were a result of varying product standards and that a mass recall of toys was largely a result of faulty US designs and not Chinese workmanship.
Earlier this month, Mattel Inc recalled almost 19 million Chinese-made items, including dolls, cars and action figures. Some were contaminated with lead paint, while others had small, powerful magnets that children might swallow and damage their organs.
"About 85% were directly designed by the American company and produced according to requirements of the American importer," said Li Changjiang, director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.
"I personally have seen some of the toys. There are serious problems in their design, so they are highly dangerous for children. These types of toys would be recalled in any country," Li told a news conference.
Li did not give details on the alleged design problems. Chinese officials said last week that some of the recall problems were the result of a change in May in international standards governing magnets.
He said that overall Chinese-made toys were safe, and that the number of recalled toys were a small part of the 22 billion toys exported from China last year.
Clothing meets Chinese standards
Li's comments were the latest in a Chinese push to prove it is working to overcome its safety problems and is a safe manufacturer - for both its people and the world. But continuing discoveries of high levels of chemicals and toxins in Chinese exports by countries around the world, from toothpaste to fish, have made salvaging its reputation an uphill task.
Li also defended Chinese clothing exports. Last week, New Zealand launched an urgent investigation after children's clothes imported from China were found to contain dangerous levels of formaldehyde.
He said Chinese tests showed the clothing meets Chinese standards for flammability and formaldehyde.
Li also said during the 90-minute news conference that some of the accusations of quality shortcomings for Chinese products were because of different standards in different countries.
"For some products there are different standards for China and the United States, so there are differences in defining what is a qualified product," he said.
Li said there were problems with some Chinese products, such as the toothpaste with poisonous chemicals, which the government was trying to correct.
'Some organisations applied incorrect data'
But he also challenged the accuracy of groups that test the products.
"The products exported from China are up to standards and good in quality, but ... some inspection organisations have applied incorrect data and reached the wrong decision. "We are communicating with the relevant US organisations to solve the problem,"
He did not elaborate.
Last week, Vice Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said the global recall of millions of Chinese-made toys was the result of new industry standards, not poor quality.
Gao said the recalled products - including popular Polly Pocket dolls and Barbie play sets - were pulled off the shelves because of a revision of international standards in May involving magnets.
Mattel first announced a recall involving magnets in November 2006, after several Polly Pocket-related injures were reported.
It extended that recall this month following the change in industry standards that required safety warnings for toys with magnets or magnetic components not attached tightly.
- AP
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