China, Europe and US sign up to bolster consumer safety

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-11-18  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

CHINA, the European Union and the United States convened their first trilateral summit on product safety in Brussels yesterday, vowing close cooperation on the issue.

The meeting was attended by EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, chairperson of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission Nancy Nord and Vice Minister Wei Chuanzhong of China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. 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.

Discussion among the three parties also focused on action to strengthen information exchange on alerts and recalls ?? in particular using new US product safety legislation to allow more open information exchanges on product recalls and dangerous products.

The meeting aimed to protect the interests of consumers, Wei said following the talks.

The result was "a new beginning" for trilateral cooperation based on bilateral cooperation, and a "new era" in safeguarding consumer goods safety among China, the EU and the United States, he said.

Wei told reporters that the joint statement set "a good example" to the world and was a "significant contribution" to safeguarding product safety in international trade.

Kuneva stressed that the meeting sent "a very clear signal" about the determination of leaders in Europe, China and the US to put the safety of citizens first.

"We are strongly in favor of open and competitive markets, with all the benefits in terms of price and choice they bring for millions of consumers, but never at the expense of safety," she added.

Earlier in the day, the EU and China signed a renewed and extended Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation on product safety controls.