Here’s something everyone can be thankful for—the Chinese, Europeans, and tangentially everyone in America and the rest of the world who have spent the better part of last year dodging lead bullets from the factory nation. The European Union’s consumer chief has said that China has made “quantum leaps” in improving its safety protocols, and will therefore not face a ban in the EU.

This doesn’t end the heavy scrutiny China faces in the EU for its shoddy safety record—the EU says it will continue to expect detailed reports every 3 to 4 months.

“To be honest we didn’t expect such a positive response from the Chinese authorities,” another Commission official said.

“But it just shows that the carrot and stick approach works. You cannot just go around banning everything from China. It would be ludicrous for both the industry and consumer, who would end up having to pay more in the run-up to Christmas.

“The two significant moves by China have been to increase their checks 10-fold, right down to regional level and the withdrawal of thousands of export licences,” the official added.

“China makes “quantum leap” to avoid toy ban: EU” [Reuters]
(Photo: Getty)

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