8 L$ b6 S! W% x+ j由中国杭州中策橡胶有限公司(Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber)制造的这些轮胎缺少一层帮助加固轮胎、防止胎面分离的橡胶层——2000年，正是这个问题导致美国大规模召回凡世通轮胎(Firestone)。记者昨日未能联系到杭州中策的管理人员置评。- H% C( d- U, Y7 w
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7 v, i& J& S& L) lBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai , u" j- `$ \0 a
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 " E1 Y* E6 g t1 Y) ]) @6 ^
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION 4 o% R9 f! B% E& c" g9 r: W/ }7 U ; I( I3 c; y, ~China has impounded two shipments of food from the US on the grounds that the produce is unsafe and warned that procedures for monitoring American food imports should be tightened. : H: ^) I: r( Y$ M5 D- [/ h; n& A ; ~- U$ g( n9 J2 x& UGovernment inspectors seized separate shipments of orange pulp and apricots from the US because they contained excessive bacteria and mould, China's food safety inspectorate said yesterday on its website. $ [' ^) ~8 K4 r) [' h0 G ; p/ ]+ Y2 w% U% NComing on the back of a series of scandals in the US over the quality of imported goods from China, the announcement will be considered by many importers as a form of retaliation by the Chinese authorities.7 d7 o/ [7 I8 R; p6 ?' o4 p
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The statement comes one day after regulators in the US announced a recall of up to 450,000 tyres manufactured by a Chinese company because of a potentially dangerous safety problem. 5 w- D# q! J; u: |2 P3 c. o& \, A$ ^* p' _( q/ v, u2 |' F E
China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said it had impounded the orange pulp in the eastern province of Shandong and the apricots were seized in Shenzhen. 6 z: K, M6 ]2 }( C3 y 7 T2 P% H X, U9 o1 h, RThe shipments contained “excessive bacteria, mould and sulphur dioxide”, the agency said, but gave no details about when they were impounded or how big the shipments were.( g" Z, `: D0 U! V0 F( M
Q9 }/ L" Y0 J, @- ?The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”.0 V+ J5 [) r y1 J: H
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An executive at a European trading company based in Shanghai said: “We cannot say anything for sure without seeing details about the shipments, but it certainly looks like a way of deflecting some of the attention away from China and its own quality problems.”5 }' r/ D. P; H: s
! h: n7 V7 O6 }; oThe US government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on Monday the recall of tyres sold by Foreign Tire Sales, a New Jersey distributor, which are used in vans, sports utility vehicles and pick-up trucks.6 ~) [8 h ]$ Q
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The tyres, made by a Chinese company called Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber, lacked a gum strip that helps strengthen the tyre and prevent tread separation – the problem that caused a massive recall of Firestone tyres in the US in 2000. Officials at Hangzhou Zhongce could not be reached for comment yesterday. ) U( [9 Y. d5 D/ Y) v7 _' N, b2 M" C+ R2 S
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Financial Times
