Product safety law needed, expert says

China needs legislation on consumer product safety to protect consumers and improve the quality of products, an official with the country's quality watchdog said.

Liu Zhaobin, chief engineer with the General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said at a seminar on Tuesday that a consumer product safety law would also help quicken the steps of transforming the functions of government.

"The government's supervision cannot always effectively ensure the safety of products, as we are faced with millions of products, a changing market and various factors that affect safety," he said.

Liu said a number of countries, including the United States, have created laws governing the safety of consumer products that provide significant protections for people.

He added that new laws would not overlap the existing Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, which was amended last year. A consumer product safety law would focus on the quality of products during the production process, he said.

Liu added that China is also facing mounting pressure to ensure the quality of products, as nearly 15 percent of the country's textile and clothing products are of substandard quality.

"Such a law would also help the country's exports by spurring exporters to pay more attention to the safety of products made in China," he said.

Liu made the remarks at a seminar of the China Quality Month event organized by the General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.