After Mattel pulls almost a million toys off the shelves, the Chinese president says greater vigilance in food quality and safety is the responsibility of the entire international community.

Sidney (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Chinese President Hu said today that China took allegations of safety lapses "very seriously,” that his government was committed to strengthening product quality and food safety today, responding this way to global concerns.

In a press conference in Sydney (Australia) at the APEC summit, the Chinese leader rejected charges levelled at Chinese products, adding that, in a global marketplace, product safety was an issue facing the entire international community.

“The Chinese side is willing and ready to work together with the international community to step up co-operation in quality inspections and examinations," Hu explained.

In recent weeks, Chinese products have been recalled because of safety issues and concerns about their quality. Several retailers have removed ‘Made in China’ products from their shelves like toothpaste, cough syrups and pet food.

Beijing has responded by accusing the international community of unfairness and spreading panic.

According to a member of a Guangdong business association, envy is behind the problem. In his view Chinese exports are safe and standards high enough that some US products have had to be rejected.

Still, Chinese products are still a source of concern for many.

The world’s largest toy company Mattel just announced its third recall of Chinese-made products, involving some 800,000 units with unacceptable levels of lead.

They include three Fisher-Price brand toys and eight Barbie accessories, but no Barbie doll. Altogether 522,000 unites were pulled off the shelves in the United States and 322,000 in other markets.

Since the start of the crisis almost 20,000,000 units have been recalled.

• china
• united
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• jintao
• toys
• mattel
• barbie
• fisher-price
• apec
• sydney
• australia