EU-China team up on non-food products

China is creating a national rapid alert system for non-food products (RAPEX) to enhance EU-China information exchange and the seizure of substandard consumer products.

The local system will interlink with the European Union system, a top Chinese quality control official said yesterday.

"With the new system we will be able to distribute information to our 35 provincial bureaus nationwide in real time. And if the local offices have any information, they can immediately respond to the Beijing headquarters," Li Changjiang, head of the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), said.