Sino-US product safety talks end

China has called a week of product safety talks with the US that ended September 12 productive, Reuters reported. However, Chinese officials are sticking to their official line that the product safety issue has been  used to advance American "trade protectionism," insisting that the majority of toy recalls this summer were caused by unsafe design by US companies, not Chinese manufacturers' use of lead paint. Wei Chuanzhong, vice minister of the General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ), cited examples of US exports to China and elsewhere that had product safety problems, adding that China had taken a number of steps against unsafe products. He did not give details on how the US and China would cooperate in future on the issue. A US product safety panel will present specific recommendations to President George W. Bush in November.