As many folks have observed and opined upon, I don't often criticize--at least, not too harshly--the hand that feeds me: The Central Government of China. In this case, I will let the headline above suffice--plus the editorial excerpted below from today's The New York Times.
Editorial China, Unregulated
"That's the price of doing business," is the too-often-heard excuse from American companies that choose to overlook China's loose business ethics and tight, verging on strangling, political controls.
The high cost of such enabling was on display, once again, yesterday when Mattel announced that it is recalling millions of Chinese-made toys contaminated with lead paint or containing dangerously easy to swallow magnets. And that follows discoveries of Chinese toothpaste laced with industrial solvents and drug-contaminated seafood.
Concerned parents can simply stop buying toys made in China, although that could mean refusing to buy toys altogether given China's dominance of the worldwide toy industry. And it could still come to that.
It is definitely not in America's interest--economic, political or strategic--to erect a barricade against Chinese imports, which could spark a mutually destructive trade war. American businesses and the Bush administration must send a clear message to Beijing that it has to clean up its act or its export-led boom will falter.
What China needs is an effective and transparent regulatory system to enforce product safety standards. The United States and other countries can help with technical advice and warnings about what would happen if Beijing refuses to take it. But the dangers are too immediate to wait.