The Chinese government on September 4 invited member of the foreign media to view inspections in three toy factories and toy-testing labs across Guangdong in an effort to repair the nation's image after a series of embarrassing toy recalls.

China's toy exports suffered a loss of face last month when US toy manufacturer Mattel recalled nearly 20 million Chinese-made toys. Mattel announced that paint on the toys contained excessive amounts of lead and that small, powerful magnets posed a potential danger to children.

The Guangdong Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau reported that products from 99 percent of the province’s toy factories are up to standard. Different types of tests have been carried out in the lab, ranging from paint and plastic analysis to testing electrical parts and sound tests.

"China's toy-making industry is actually very good,” said Zhong Dechang, director of the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. “It is not messed up like the Americans say it is.”

Workers in the toy factories showed foreign reporters how products are tested. "A doll is normally tested for 10,000 times whether it can smile and cry as designed and we have an employee specially in charge of testing this function," said a staff member from Jetta (China) Industry Co. Ltd., who refused to be named.

Wang Xin, an official with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) is confident about the quality of the toys made in Guangdong province, which accounted for 70 percent of China's toy exports last year. "We believe the recalls are isolated cases,” said Wang. “Some small factories do have quality problems often caused by inaccuracies when buying raw materials like paint, fill-in cotton and leather.”

"But mostly, the problems are caused by foreign brand owners' improper designs or inconsistent testing standards among different countries,” Wang added. Wang also suggested that importers should share responsibility for approving faulty designs. Meanwhile Guangdong government officials have launched a crackdown on unapproved manufacturers. This is part of a four-month nationwide campaign that was launched in late August to improve product quality.

Editor: Yan