The government has pledged to improve the quality of 10 consumer products on its priority list. (Photo : www.ins-globalconsulting.com)
At least 10 kinds of consumer products are lined up for quality improvement, as China’s quality watchdog pledged to undertake the upgrade this year.
In an article published by CRIENGLISH.com, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine vowed to maintain 92 percent of the sample product quality above the state standards which also include reducing accidents of elevators and other mechanical devices.
According to the report, consumer goods where social concern is high will be listed as priority by the agency.
"Our first significant campaign in 2016 is to upgrade the quality of the consumer products nationwide. We will focus on 10 kinds of products including air purifiers, rice cookers, smart toilet seats, smart phones, kitchenware, and bedding," Zhi Shuping, director of the national quality watchdog, said.
The report added that severe air pollution has spurred the sale of air purifying equipment, while many cities in northern China also suffer from lingering heavy smog over the winter.
A recent report on the testing of 21 indoor air cleaners, however, revealed that the efficiency of air purifiers can vary widely.
Zhu Yan, deputy chief engineer of China's Household Electrical Appliances Research Institute, said that the efficiency of an air purifier relies on the quality of the filtration material, which also affects the life span of the machine.
"The pollutants will become attached on the filtration material as the machine is used, and decrease the volume of clean air that the purifier can deliver. So when that volume drops to half of the original standard, the purifier is useless," Zhu said.
The report said that a new national standard on air purifiers is set to be issued by the national quality watchdog. Under the new standard, the quality of air purifiers is not only determined by its purification efficiency, but also by the total volume of clean air it can deliver.
Zhi Shuping from the national quality watchdog stressed that the government should focus on enhancing the quality standards of products.
"To improve the quality, we should not only rely on inspection and punishment as we did before, but focus more on the level-up of our standard, and to further conform national standards with international ones, so to encourage manufacturers to improve technology and produce more customized products," Zhi said.
The authorities also vowed to strengthen supervision on imported products, especially food and health products, this year.
