What is with China?

[xd.40sub]

Are the Chinese really trying to poison us? How many recalls of Chinese made stuff have there been lately? Dog food, cat food, toothpaste, tires, children’s toys, baby bibs, this is ridiculous. I had some of the toys that were recalled in my house because they were given to my children for Christmas or birthdays. They were the dinosaur flashlights that roared when you turned them on and the light was inside the dinosaur’s mouth. Anyway they make good targets; you may as well get some use out of it before throwing them out.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[ccw9mm]

Of course not, though with a billion.6 people, there's likely to be a greater incidence of folks engaged in export on a less-than-honorable basis than anywhere else on earth. In terms of quality, it's clear the country is still on the fringe of the rule of law (given the "wild west" nature and rampant corruption), hasn't learned the long-term lesson that quality pays, and has all the ancillary issues related to those two primary problems.

[wendywc]

Well, the American companies whose brands that are carrying these recalled products should shoulder the the blame. The companies shouldn't be allowed to cop out and in turn blame China; it's still their responsibility --- they decided to outsource, so they need to ensure they're still overseeing the production and testing and quality control.

[Der Alte]

+1 What Wendywc said.

[EW3]

I see China today as what our country was 100-120 years ago where there was very little regulation, standards and oversight of big industry. Does anyone remember "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair? We read that in HS and covered what horrendous things were going on in the meat packing industry of pre-turn of the century America.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jungle

[sailormnop]

Another case of "Let the buyer beware". You have to take responsibility for what you buy. Especially for your kids. Our kids (don't have any yet) will only get products we feel are safe. Either made by someone we know or from a reputable company in a country that respects individual rights and the rule of law. Relying on an anonymous company to safeguard your children's health is just like calling the police when someone is raping or robbing you. They might track them down after the fact, but the damage is done. Most people live in a fog of assumed safety that's just not there. It's an illusion.

You can't even necessarily blame the company in China that made the dangerous product. China is effectively still a third world country and most of the people there don't know what chemicals can do to a child playing with a toy. They find a way to make the product more efficiently and they do it. They just don't know. You have to watch out for yourself.

As far as intentional poisoning and the like, it wouldn't surprise me if China was trying to thin out their own population and just accidentally slipped some of the bad stuff into the exports. Wouldn't be the first time population control has trumped morals in China.

[Stile]

Dose anyone really believe they care.

[QKShooter]

I agree with wendywc.

American companies should now be well aware of the fact that they need to Quality Control check every item that they import from China.
And especially check for Lead paint on kids toys and other items intended for growing children...as Lead is especially dangerous to young kids - and kids tend to put everything in the mouth.

Hey...I don't even buy dog treats for my dog if they are Made In China.

If it's not fit for Human Consumption and it's exported out of China...Whatever is in it ....I don't want my pet ingesting it.

[pgrass101]

"I don't eat food from China" is what you are saying right? Well if you eat Campbell's soup you are probably eating food from China. The wheat, carrots, onions, chicken etc… that is in the soup comes from China, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, the US and who knows where else. The oil your potato chips are cooked in comes from the same places. The big companies mix everything up togther in an vat and out it goes.

Pretty much anything you buy from someplace other than you locale farmers markets is imported from other countries. And if your local farmer is selling you jam from his blackberries he is breaking the law if he doesn't have the USDA approved kitchen and restrooms. And has regular inspections even if he sells only 1 jar of jam a year.

[havegunjoe]

We have conveniently forgotten that they are the COMMUNIST CHINESE. Even though they may be making honest mistakes and I have my doubts about that we should not be doing business with them just on that basis alone. We certainly should not be giving them the technology to make all the things we buy from them, that is for sure.

[artz]

after what I have read about china and how fast shes growing. They are their own worst enemy and we are just getting a trickle of their accidental mistakes compared to living there.

[Cupcake]

It is the american company to blame, but it is the american consumer every bit as much. We like our stuff and we like it cheap. Wal Mart and their chinese crap has put out of business countless US manufacturing plants. Can't blame Wal Mart though, we give them their power by giving them our money.

[Geezer]

I don't think that the American companies that are out-sourcing their products overseas are interested or concerned with quality. Their only concern is the bottom line. What's sadder, it's very hard to find high quality in American made products. I cannot think of a single American company that truly takes pride in their quality and workmanship.

[simon]

Imagine if US company's and our government put all the money back into the US economy, that they put into"cheaper to make there" companies in China...hmmm

[Colin]

I will say the quality of the Norinco firearms is getting better all of the time. China's industry has become an economic threat not just to the US but to all of the other Asian countries that use labour intensive processes. They have just started on a program to create their own brand names and market them, so that will help build their quality control which will trickle down a bit. It also depends which Province you buy from, some are known to be reputable but other areas are not.
Interesting, China admits to killing 6,000 people a year in their coal mines, a geologist I met who just came back from there thinks the number is more like 100,000 a year.