Chinese exports to the U.S. have been causing quite a stir lately--their poor quality has been all over the news. It started with pet food and moved on to fish, toys and toothpaste. As an expert on China's economic development and someone who has witnessed this problem firsthand, I want to discuss what this situation means for trade between the U.S. and China.
Chinese food safety is a serious concern. When you're standing in the heart of modern Shanghai and looking up at impressive skyscrapers and meeting well-educated businesspeople, it's hard to believe that you have to remember not to drink the water. Whenever I visit China, I'm careful to drink bottled water and avoid eating uncooked food.
But this is not just my American bias--sophisticated Chinese consumers, especially Chuppies (what I call middle- to upper-class Chinese), are increasingly becoming aware of this problem as well. Many Chuppies have changed their eating and drinking habits in order to prevent illness. Most Chinese I know will only buy processed food from a few select companies with trusted brand names.
A Global Problem
It may seem like China is the problem with its contaminated shipments and poor quality standards, but that's not the case. The tainted food story involves a combination of lax food safety standards in China, unscrupulous Chinese suppliers and mediocre inspections by U.S. distributors.
Because there are so many people involved in the trade of tainted food, there is no one country or agency to blame when it comes to this problem. Everyone is dealing in massive quantities of goods, and it's only possible to inspect a small portion of what is coming into the U.S. And before we get too far ahead of ourselves, the U.S. isn't the poster child for safe exports, either.
About two weeks ago, Chinese inspectors seized a shipment of U.S.-made orange pulp and dried apricots. Why? Because the fruit showed high levels of bacteria, mold and sulfur dioxide. The orange pulp and apricots came from a plant in California and were quarantined in the eastern province of Shandong and the southern province of Shenzhen.
This isn't the first time tainted food found its way from the U.S. into China. Just last month, several U.S. shipments were destroyed on Chinese docks because they contained health supplements and raisins that didn't meet safety standards. So, as you can see, the problem goes both ways. The truth is that wherever there's trade, there exists the possibility of faulty equipment, low-quality products or contaminated food.
So next time you reach for that newspaper or turn on the evening news, it's important to keep the contaminated imports issue in perspective.