Product quality, safety to be monitored more vigorously, public to be alerted

China will redouble its efforts to ensure the safety and quality of exported and imported goods by creating an evaluation system and taking action on evaluation results, according to a guideline released by the State Council on Wednesday.

Actions may include product bans, sequestration or mandatory recalls.

To make that happen, the country will set up a national risk assessment center, establish an expert committee and create national labs to evaluate the quality and safety of products, according to the guideline.

Evaluations will yield a risk assessment in the form of a four-tier color code for quality and safety. The four levels of risk－red for the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue－will be used as the basis for further government action.

Li Jun, director of the Product Quality and Safety Law Center at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said China has strict laws ensuring the quality of imports and exports, and that supervision of exports is even stricter than for domestic consumption.

In the United States and the European Union, effective systems of public notification regarding defective goods－and handling problems swiftly－have been established, while in China such a system is still lacking, he said.

"As a major manufacturer in the world, China needs to intensify supervision," he said.

According to the newly released guideline, China will more closely regulate recalls of defective products. Manufacturers and importers should voluntarily recall defective products, and those that try to conceal defects or refuse to comply with regulations will be held accountable, it said.

The authorities will use internet technologies to improve channels for people to file complaints, and to deliver periodic reports and warnings about the quality and safety of goods.

China will also intensify punishments for violators of product quality standards and establish a blacklist system, the guideline said.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, China's top quality authority, monitored quality and safety risks of products imported from 126 countries and regions last year. Major products involved included machinery, electrical products and textiles, the administration said.

China is also intensifying its international cooperation in quality in recent years, keeping up its fight against those who would export fake or substandard products, Zhi Shuping, head of the administration, said at a conference earlier this month.