/ G) P3 W( l: c c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。" ^- W4 q/ l/ e6 y
6 C- P0 x7 A0 C: v* n$ {$ J( s& V/ L' P3 u3 S9 @
By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai , a, u& m! n5 u, N
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 ' f! m/ V" N8 M4 s3 }3 Q4 @
, X* {1 U- I( b/ b- B' z6 ? ; j7 H& d( R# b! \4 y, TBEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION, i+ H/ Z" n$ g4 S# V' ~+ a+ [% \
5 D' Z7 B' M, r
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. 9 \1 H( v E: }% }( ` 5 f" m8 w& m+ `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. 0 t: c" O d9 o; I0 a; A: O 9 u' j0 \7 f/ T1 J: zComing 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 z9 y$ M! ~) i$ [5 [8 j
6 S5 R: ]) y6 S5 Q! ^
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. ( u. o2 k9 K* R/ [, w0 F" H/ T) z; b Z* Y6 Q: G0 d
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. + J" d. d4 t5 w" }5 E6 F ; z3 P& E+ ?: E1 ^$ B" MThe 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.5 j! y$ s) }& Q+ y5 q7 G- a
$ z$ P$ u6 S: l( k& y. N. `The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. * W, ^6 O9 [, G. M! [. i, _- \. Q) t5 \# g; T6 A
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.”2 \* ]& _% D* H- ?! p/ A& B# v
" b/ m; R, }) ~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.% d. k3 A+ S e. V$ H# b2 g
) |+ k1 l) V; h) HThe 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. " G* A9 y* N" u1 l1 B& u& y' b; o" _0 ~# j G
8 F. d1 j1 Z# k$ x: J9 R
: Y2 I9 v) c0 w
Financial Times
