China, the European Union and the United States have convened their first trilateral summit on product safety, vowing to cooperate closely on the issue.

The three parties signed a joint statement and agreed on priority action areas including product traceability, cooperation on toy safety standards, expertise exchange and joint enforcement actions.

China, the European Union and the United States have convened their first trilateral summit on product safety, vowing to cooperate closely on the issue.

Discussions among the three parties also focused on action to strengthen information exchange on alerts and recalls -- in particular using new U.S. product safety legislation, which will allow more open information exchange on product recalls and dangerous products.

Representatives of the three sides commended the meeting.

Vice minister of China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, Wei Chuanzhong said the trilateral meeting aims to protect the interests of consumers. He said the three talked about moves to improve consumption safety, and further joint steps to enforce this. By the summit, the participants reach consensus on several aspects, and the meeting works well.

A memorandum of understanding was signed to upgrade the existing China Rapid Alert System for dangerous goods. The upgrade will give China immediate access to the EU's Rapid Alert System for Feed and Food for the first time... and significantly, grant access to the system's notifications concerning China.

(CCTV November 19, 2008)