China vows hardline on quality, even if it hurts exports

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BEIJING, Dec 11 (Reuters): China will keep taking tough measures to improve the quality of its products, even if that means exports suffer, Vice Premier Wu Yi said ahead of high-level talks on product safety with the United States.
China has come under scrutiny for the quality of its exports in recent months due to a series of scandals and recalls of made-in-China products from toys to toothpaste.
"Obviously, tough measures are called for to protect consumer interests. We will continue to take such measures, even if this means increasing our costs and suffering a drop in exports," she wrote in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal Asia.
Wu's piece was published as US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and Trade Representative Susan Schwab visit Beijing for joint talks on trade in which product quality and food safety are headline issues.
Wu highlighted the steps China has taken to improve supervision over its product quality, concluding: "Our efforts are paying off."