The government's efforts to guarantee product quality and food safety signify that it has taken a serious and responsible attitude toward quality and safety problems involving exported products and food.

But neither the close supervision of products and food, nor the reports by overseas media about the problems with the Made-in-China label mean that all or even most Chinese-made products are problematic.

Just as Li Changjiang, director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said yesterday, most of the problematic toys that have been recalled were manufactured according to the specifications of the US company Martell. The toys are indeed unsafe, but it is unfair to assign blame to Chinese manufacturers alone.

The fact that the manufacturers responsible for the products with quality problems have already been punished - and some have even been closed down - speaks volumes about the government's lack of tolerance for problematic products and unsafe food.

The efforts in different sectors nationwide to ensure product quality and food safety further signify the resolve of the government to adhere to the commitment it has made to provide quality products and safe food to both domestic and overseas consumers.

The government has taken these steps because product quality and food safety are of the utmost importance to all consumers. The government has made a 100 percent effort to deal with the 1 percent of the goods that have been found to have quality or safety problems.

The volume of China's exports to Europe, the United States and other parts of the world grew by a large margin in the first half of this year, despite the uproar over quality and safety problems, which suggests that Chinese-made products are well received by overseas consumers.

The more welcome Chinese-made products are in the international market, the greater the pressure on the government to ensure the Made-in-China label is trustworthy.

That explains why a leading group has been set up under the State Council to coordinate product quality and food safety efforts. The group will establish a mechanism to supervise and monitor entire production processes - from the purchase of raw materials and production to after sales service.

It is hoped that the move will help upgrade the quality of Made-in-China products. A similar mechanism will also be established for food production.

(China Daily August 28, 2007)