" X0 J. u/ \8 y& o9 T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。! e$ b. e; P! F) g, d
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% f4 p, L. \& ]6 S1 R" o4 PBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai 9 y' c }+ U+ w: BWednesday, June 27, 2007 2 [7 L3 m7 w* z* H0 D. D5 m' p' L) J
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION ; f* B$ k7 U; N: } 6 l; J0 [" X q9 X6 Q: G5 B" p7 s; PChina 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.* ^1 Z X. ^! c9 k# q. ?
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Government 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. + t+ V9 U* [) ~" T5 j! [7 L$ M) b7 n) \( {5 t% { T" u
Coming 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. % i4 z; q6 x d4 r" e/ D3 ?2 k! i& Y
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 t( e" R0 N# z/ ^
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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. 2 o/ c8 w0 N8 f( w% l5 U! y' H& ~; t+ C" Z* e9 ^
The 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.: I# C0 _7 Q% x+ m! }5 G) q
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The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”.; a! S, z4 d. U* z
1 N' i2 {8 s8 @% ZAn 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.”2 L7 [, U' o: f$ l" H; L( A1 H
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The 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.3 J0 j. l, n3 p5 c# O4 Z4 L: m
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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. . O1 J- D( Z5 d! ?) K& H" L 3 V6 I) ^2 y" q* k9 u/ i 0 G; `& U! K, E8 s; ^/ ~* T Q) Q/ B' s* t+ I( k H2 X2 e
Financial Times
