$ d2 X7 X' B% |8 y3 {& k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。 3 p" Q& ?2 z- V% m5 h% d 2 \3 g, e- y. m$ Y# ]3 [! z% P$ u _
By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai 0 k. n. S$ r' o: d
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 $ p0 P+ V8 L2 {! ]
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION/ a1 l1 r6 I4 L7 H' K9 Y8 {9 p- m
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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.8 E& n/ C# ^8 ]9 i! Y
7 ]1 M! s, b2 ^& N7 i2 bGovernment 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.% u" ^4 H; q) Y; H0 s
5 m/ w# f2 n6 l/ s0 l3 V1 g6 F5 L8 W6 ~3 v8 |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. 6 U# ^+ E8 @- _: m& e, H& W" ^ " J8 x, Z5 o+ H. N }5 g gThe 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." U9 S4 ]' ?; `8 r& d; T3 ^ [
0 S. ^4 R- i' y7 AChina'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. & v! p; ~. }" @3 s4 Y% y7 i7 b. k# a4 X i
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. * p, x- G9 n: S& _8 B' k. M9 V4 v& C( F
The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”.1 o; Y5 y) ?4 m5 X" T
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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.”+ F6 k; P. L$ y9 F) t
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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.4 A" b) v9 D! l% P! W* I- T3 X
' J& I4 ?/ d: f, lThe 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.# r, ?# y! C. J
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Financial Times
