More than 5.3 million vehicles were recalled last year in China due to product defects, the largest number in the country's history, the quality watchdog announced on Jan 6.

Of these, 37 percent were recalled after investigations from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, Zhi Shuping, chief of the quality watchdog, said during an annual work conference.

The quality watchdog also intercepted 530,000 containers of cargo containing 4,509 pest species in 2013 and rejected 2,030 batches of imported food that failed to meet standards.

The authority also rejected 601,000 metric tons of corn imports from the United States after detecting an unapproved genetically modified strain in them.

The genetically modified variety, known as MIR 162, was first detected by quarantine authorities in Shenzhen from a shipment of US corn cargo in mid-November.