BEIJING (AP) -- China on Tuesday urged greater care in the manufacture of children's products amid a tainted milk scandal and a recall of Chinese-made cribs in the United States.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the government "attaches importance to product quality, especially the quality of products relating to children."
A spokesman for New York-based Delta Enterprises said Monday the company voluntarily recalled nearly 1.6 million cribs made between 1995 and 2005 after two infant deaths. He did not say where the cribs were made.
The company said the cribs either required safety pegs that may have been lost during reassembly or replacements for pegs which may have worn out after many uses.
Delta's Web site urged consumers to immediately stop using the product if they used spring pegs and were made in China before 2006.
Qin said he did not know about the recall but he said it was important to "ensure the quality of products for children."
"Should any problems occur, we hope that relevant foreign companies, governments will talk to us and we are willing to listen to understand the exact situation and see what exactly are the problems," he told reporters at a regular briefing.
The reputation of China's exports have suffered in the past year after industrial toxins were found in products ranging from toothpaste to a pet food ingredient.
Last year, U.S.-based Mattel Inc. recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made toys worldwide. Products including Barbie doll accessories and toy cars were pulled off shelves because of concerns about lead paint or tiny detachable magnets that could be swallowed.
In September, a scandal broke after it was revealed that the chemical melamine, which is used to make plastics and fertilizer, had been found in milk powder and was linked to kidney stones in children. Contamination has since turned up in liquid milk, yogurt and other products made with milk.
The deaths of four Chinese babies have been linked to the contamination and some 54,000 children have fallen sick nationwide.
Authorities have blamed dairy suppliers, saying they added melamine to watered-down milk to make the product appear richer in protein.
