【英语中国】中国软化在产品安全问题上的立场

China yesterday softened its tone over the safety of food and consumer product exports, pledging to raise standards in factories and processing plants by the end of this year in order to restore confidence among US consumers. At a briefing in New York, officials promised that the central government would not tolerate backsliding or lax oversight on the part of local and regional authorities. They said that there would be “zero tolerance for violators or government officials who fail to perform their duties”.

The tone of the media briefing by Kuang Weilin, deputy consul general in New York, was notably conciliatory compared with previous statements by the Chinese government. These have tended to portray recent product safety scares as being exaggerated by protectionist politicians in the US.

“We do have problems but we are very determined to tackle them earnestly and effectively,” said Mr Kuang. He said the decision to establish a cabinet panel on product safety headed by Wu Yi, a vice-premier, earlier this month showed the government's determination.

The briefing followed a series of scares over safety of food products and consumer goods such as children's toys exported from China. Mattel, the US toy maker, has had to recall 18m products because they contained small magnets that could be swallowed.

Mr Kuang said the initial focus of a safety crackdown would be on entities such as livestock and food processing plants, and small restaurants and grocery stores. He said safety and hygiene problems were particularly acute in rural districts and in areas on the fringes of Chinese cities.

He said that the vast majority of “Made in China” goods were safe and of high quality but the government recognised that it needed to address the legitimate concerns of consumers.

中国政府在出口食品与消费品安全上的态度昨日有所软化，承诺在年底之前提高工厂和加工厂的标准，以恢复美国消费者的信心。在纽约举行的一个情况介绍会上，中国官员们保证，中央政府将不会容忍地方和地区政府（在产品安全和质量上的）倒退或是放松监管。他们表示，将 “绝不辜息那些违规者和失职的政府官员”。



与中国政府先前的一些声明相比，中国驻美代（副）总领事邝伟林（Kuang Weilin）在纽约举行的媒体情况介绍会的语气明显带有和解色彩。以往的声明往往将近来的产品安全恐慌描述为美国保护主义政治家的夸大其词。



邝伟林表示：“我们的确存在一些问题，但我们下定决心，将认真、有效地解决这些问题。”他表示，中国政府决定成立一个由副总理吴仪牵头的国务院工作小组，以加强产品质量和食品安全，这彰显了中国政府在这方面的决心。





此次情况介绍会之前，发生了一系列食品和消费品安全恐慌事件，例如中国出口的儿童玩具问题。美国玩具制造商美泰(Mattel)被迫召回了1800万件产品，因为它们含有可能被吞食的小块磁铁。

邝伟林称，初期的安全打击重点将集中在牲畜、食品加工厂、小型餐厅和食杂店上。他表示，安全和卫生问题在中国农村及城市边缘地带尤为严重。

他表示，大多数“中国制造”的产品是安全和高质量的，但中国政府认识到，需要化解消费者合理的担忧。



译者/李碧波