. X: Z% W' Y+ f* X' G- } }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。/ ^ V4 r( k/ m) M
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# W" t7 S8 E- nBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai ! |7 h6 }* g( G$ a$ ]+ O1 TWednesday, June 27, 2007 0 G" g; c! U$ C* q/ Q ) I+ p: ~3 G9 g# U1 L % K2 K$ ?. L' \$ OBEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION 5 | R2 q' g0 ?& o 6 O) g+ t/ r. C }' [1 t& n V& bChina 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. ) Q% |9 U2 u# Q% E4 g* v* U" H+ ^( h9 m7 d9 }0 N
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.8 D6 ]0 {4 U4 Z) h/ {
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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.1 ~0 M% Q/ d4 ^
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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.& x# |0 n! H7 `
* x1 N2 c8 ?+ U8 e* M. SChina'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. 3 ~5 i: V1 E7 o! W( U" T% ~. N$ J$ y* K) t4 G& u# {3 ], H
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.. V% P5 E$ C/ y+ N* r* s
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The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”.9 w$ ^( W" }" l2 n
; y: ^% W& q7 A, HAn 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.”0 j% C0 f( {. [) N, N! E
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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.+ Y8 \" }9 G7 p4 x6 {0 R C+ c" ?
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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.$ J( B! r' Q# g% c: A5 ?
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$ v4 E% Y5 X8 z% U! Y/ t/ D- z ) W- Z6 Y( u# j: k7 j; b' ?, ]4 fFinancial Times
