The country's top quality and quarantine watchdog pledged to
"safeguard the State door" by further strengthening the inspection
of import and export products, now that the country has joined the
World Trade Organization (WTO).
Ports across the country have been ordered to increase their
vigilance to ensure the safety of imported food products, in
particular, according to the State Administration for Quality
Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine.
Diseases such as AIDS, anthrax, tuberculosis and foot-and-mouth
disease, have been emphasized in the quarantine authorities
"blacklist."
The administration is preparing to set up a nationwide
quick-reaction network against epidemics next year to deal with any
such breakouts.
Quarantine officials noted at their annual national work meeting
held this week in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong
Province, that the country's huge population, as well as the
agricultural and stock-breeding industries are particularly
"vulnerable'' to such alien epidemics.
The country's quarantine watchdogs at all levels detected 2,462
import cases of these diseases from January to November this year,
according to official statistics.
In
addition, the country's entry-exit inspection and quarantine
authorities checked a total of 1.02 million admissions during the
first 11 months of this year, discovering 82,000 cases involving a
variety of diseases, 211 of them proving to be AIDS, said the
administration.
Quarantine officials revealed that a number of State-level
quarantine laboratories are to be built next year, to be used to
collect and analyze information about epidemics occurring abroad
and at the same time to provide effective and advanced solutions to
handle outbreaks of these diseases in China, as well as timely
guidance and consultation.
Using foreign technologies and with strong financial support from
the central and local governments, these labs are expected to be up
to international standards, and will help improve the efficiency of
the country's quarantine networks.
The administration also urged its branches across the country to
pour more funds into epidemic research to cope with any potential
epidemic disasters.
In
addition, the country will further strengthen its quality
supervision over export products to ensure a good international
reputation for "Made in China'' products, according to the
administration.
The administration minister Li Changjiang noted that the
administration will take the responsibility of protecting the
interests of both domestic and foreign consumers now that the
country has formally become a WTO member.
According to Li, the administration will strengthen its license
system for both export and import products, under which domestic
and foreign products will be certificated and accredited in line
with international standards.
During the first 11 months of this year, the country's entry-exit
quality and quarantine offices confiscated 36,000 batches of
unqualified products valued at US$2.4 billion.
And earlier last month, the administration launched a 100-day
nationwide product quality inspection in home markets to ensure a
"safe market" for domestic consumers in the coming year.
(China
Daily December 16, 2001)