China to continue drive against shoddy products

China would frame 10,000 national quality standards and speed up legislation in its continuing battle against shoddy products, a senior official said.

More than 9,500 outdated national quality standards would be revised and their total number would reach 31,000, including the new 10,000 standards by the end of this year, the official said.

China would adopt more international standards and by the end of the year, 75 per cent of national standards are expected to reach international levels, as against the present 60 per cent, Li Changjiang, Minister of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), told a meeting.

A white paper on product quality in China would also be released. China has stepped up its drive to weed out shoddy products more so after being hit by waves of recalls of its products, specifically toys over safety issues.

Tougher measures will be in place to guarantee the quality of high-risk products such as toys, garments, furniture, paint and detergent.

"We are facing challenges as well as opportunities, as quality issues are receiving unprecedented attention from both the central government and the public," Li was quoted as saying by the state-run China Daily.

Administration spokesman Liu Deping said meetings and negotiations were also being arranged with major trade partners including the US, the European Union and Japan over product quality issues.