Vice Premier Wu Yi's Product Safety Parade Hits South

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 001270 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE PASS CONSUMER PRODUCTS SAFETY COMMISSION RICH O'BRIEN/INTL PROGRAMS STATE PASS USTR CHINA OFFICE STATE PASS HOMELAND SECURITY COUNCIL STATE PASS IMPORT SAFETY WORKING GROUP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD EIND TBIO ECON PGOV CH SUBJECT: Vice Premier Wu Yi's Product Safety Parade Hits South China REF: A) GUANGZHOU 1249, B) GUANGZHOU 1230, C) GUANGZHOU 1226, D) GUANGZHOU 1213, E) GUANGZHOU 1101 (U) This document is sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. Not for release outside U.S. government channels. Not for internet publication. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: With teams of inspectors scouring the path ahead, Vice Premier Wu Yi and a cast of hundreds (320 national and provincial officials to be exact) visited 11 Guangdong cities last week as part of the four-month national campaign on food safety and product quality. The Guangdong site visits and a general meeting of China's special product safety taskforce primarily focused on drug safety and import and export quality. Wu highlighted toy safety concerns and problems in the pharmaceuticals industry, including the need to strengthen the supervision of raw materials. During the visit, the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress passed new food safety regulations, with detailed provisions for a provincial food-recall system. The question now: how will officials sustain momentum as the special four-month campaign winds down at the end of the year? End summary. Y'all Come On Down -------------- ¶2. (U) Vice Premier Wu Yi and 320 national and provincial officials descended on Guangdong Province November 29 to personally survey efforts undertaken as part of the government's four-month long campaign to strengthen China's food safety and product quality system. Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua and four Vice Governors led 10 official inspection teams on tours of 11 Guangdong cities before hosting on November 30 the third general meeting of the National Leading Group of the State Council for Product Quality and Food Safety, the special taskforce created to address these issues. The previous meetings took place in Zhejiang and Shandong, and this month's site visits and general meeting primarily focused on drug safety and import and export quality, including toy and seafood exports. ¶3. (SBU) Although Wu Yi did not visit any U.S.-owned manufacturers in south China, U.S. businesses received official requests to prepare for possible site visits weeks before her arrival. Ref B reported on word received from Mattel that Wu would visit three of its factories. Provincial and local officials oversaw significant cleanup of streets, gardens, and other neighborhood areas, as well as the hanging of large red banners emphasizing the importance of product quality and safety near factories identified for possible tours. Media also reported extensive preparations at local markets, fisheries, pharmaceutical plants and shopping areas, and featured complaints from some business owners that such cosmetic changes are a waste of money for shop owners and a hassle for consumers. Spotlight on Toys and Pharmaceuticals -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Wu extended her planned 20-minute stop at Hong Kong-owned toy vendor Jetta Company to 90 minutes and used the opportunity to emphasize that all Chinese exporters must be vigilant about meeting import country safety and quality standards. Jetta Company is a major supplier of U.S. toy companies, including Mattel and Hasbro. Ref E reported on Congenoff and Emboff's September visit to its factory. Hasbro executives have praised to us Jetta's product quality and safety control regime as among the best in the industry. Subsequently, a small furniture factory was the site of an unscheduled stop where officials discussed the use of paint and the precautions taken against lead paint contamination. ¶5. (SBU) Wu highlighted recent drug safety improvements at site visits and during the November 30 general meeting, but she also emphasized several areas of concern for the weeks and months ahead. These included uneven supervision at the local level; lack of drug procurement transparency; unfair competition in the drug market; and small drug companies that are more likely to use harmful chemicals in production processes. Wu vowed to address these concerns, in addition to strengthening the supervision of raw materials, an issue we have raised repeatedly in our bilateral discussions. GUANGZHOU 00001270 002 OF 002 Guangdong People's Congress Jumps on the Bandwagon -------------- -------------- ¶6. (U) On November 30, the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress passed new food safety regulations, which will take effect on January 1, 2008. Media reports describe the new law as more detailed and complete than previous regulations. The new measures include detailed provisions for a provincial food recall system, clear guidelines on inspecting sources of raw materials and stricter rules on documents required for food production. The new law is reportedly very similar to one passed by Beijing's municipal government the same day. During her visit, Wu also announced that a draft law on food safety had been submitted to the National People's Congress (NPC) for review and approval. She said the Ministry of Agriculture and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) will issue regulations to ensure food safety and product quality. Media Bangs the Drums -------------- ¶7. (U) South China's media set the stage in recent weeks for Wu Yi's visit and the November 30 general meeting by reporting on enforcement results of Guangdong's food safety and product quality special campaign. Citing Vice Governor Tong Xing and other officials, local press reported 422,360 enforcement officers had been deployed, by November 11, to inspect 489,547 companies and factories in the province, uncovering approximately 8,570 food safety and product quality cases. The total value of the cases exceeded RMB 620 million and resulted in 5,668 unlicensed companies and factories being shut down. 411 companies have also had their business licenses revoked. ¶8. (SBU) In a meeting with Congenoffs, the Guangdong Province Technical Supervision Bureau (TSB) provided a more detailed breakdown of the agency's quality inspections. The TSB looked into over four thousand actual cases, handling the majority itself; however, 23 were referred to the Public Security Bureau (PSB),12 cases to the Health Department, and 7 cases to the Administration of Industry and Commerce (AIC). About 10 percent of all TSB-initiated investigations uncovered actionable information. Similarly, the Guangdong branch of the China Inspection and Quarantine Service (CIQ) announced on November 20 that inspections of exporters during the four-month campaign included 1,323 toy manufacturers and 1,139 food companies. Of those, 366 toy companies lost their export permits, and 242 were suspended from operation; 122 food companies lost their sanitary permits and 62 were suspended for rectification. Comment -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Enforcement action on the ground by Guangdong inspection agencies suggests there's real substance behind the hype of the four-month food safety and product quality campaign. Recent press coverage of local food and product quality has also included identification of many local companies and products with problems. The widespread media coverage may in itself be an important tool in the campaign and more than just a public relations effort aimed at local consumers and foreign buyers of Chinese exports. It is probably also intended as a clear warning to producers. A local consumer protection NGO earlier speculated to Congenoff that this kind of exposure of problems would be a powerful tool the Chinese government would employ only if other means proved inadequate. The question now is how officials will sustain momentum as the special four-month campaign winds down at the end of the year. GOLDBERG