Saving 'Made in China'

Environmental degradation and pollution have long represented a risk to the Chinese government's credibility. Now after a spate of safety concerns over Chinese products worldwide, Beijing is fighting to shore up its battered reputation as a safe exporter. It has declared a four-month 'special war' to weed out defective products.

Toys are the latest in a string of Chinese exports that have been found to contain dangerous levels of chemicals and toxins, following the widespread recall of goods ranging from toothpaste to pet food ingredients.

Hairy crabs and lead toys: our non-exhaustive list of China's recent quality control problems highlighted in the media

Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Yi, who has been used by the government as a troubleshooter during previous trade disputes and health crises, will take charge of a top-level leadership group that will probably employ a policy of zero tolerance towards producers, vendors and government officials over poor equipment and management, excessive drug residues, and using fake materials.

Eight categories of products are involved: pork, drugs, agricultural products, processed food, food in the catering sector, import and export products, and other products such as toys and electric wires.

Twenty targets have been set which must be met by year-end. They are designed to ensure that:

• all food producers are licensed;
• all pigs are slaughtered at designated places;
• all agricultural product wholesale markets in cities are monitored;
• all raw material bases for export products are inspected; and
• all restaurants and dining halls check safety certification when they buy raw materials.

Washington will be watching closely. US officials raised their safety concerns with Wu as part of the 'strategic economic dialogue' earlier this year. Beijing can be expected to publicise what progress is made from time to time in a bid to reassure overseas markets that its exports are being checked and are safe.

How effective Wu will be depends on implementation. Enforcement in China is often weak. The country lacks a culture of legal compliance, the emphasis often being placed on finding ways to circumvent laws rather than following them. In short, the major problem when it comes to ensuring product and food safety is not the law as such, although there is room for improvement here as well.

The commitment and efficiency of local authorities will be especially hard for Beijing to guarantee. Nevertheless, eventual compliance with the central government is expected, given the need to protect local industries from health and safety concerns about their exports.