# O/ i& A& H& a% p x由中国杭州中策橡胶有限公司(Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber)制造的这些轮胎缺少一层帮助加固轮胎、防止胎面分离的橡胶层——2000年，正是这个问题导致美国大规模召回凡世通轮胎(Firestone)。记者昨日未能联系到杭州中策的管理人员置评。 ( ?* t% S* S/ H3 Z: I% H9 P. S% v" B8 R6 ], T
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By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai 7 q. o# a4 D" d& L
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 4 T6 n* e% `9 w7 o
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION! f1 j( X4 W( }1 I% C
" j- X( v+ U" v' {China has impounded two shipments of food from the US on the grounds that the produce is unsafe and warned that procedures for monitoring American food imports should be tightened. 3 W) i7 {5 I6 I0 s6 E' ]. ~( A4 S& W9 L
Government inspectors seized separate shipments of orange pulp and apricots from the US because they contained excessive bacteria and mould, China's food safety inspectorate said yesterday on its website.& N9 ~! W9 | L V
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Coming on the back of a series of scandals in the US over the quality of imported goods from China, the announcement will be considered by many importers as a form of retaliation by the Chinese authorities./ Z5 \ s' I* o" w6 o$ C) n8 _
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The statement comes one day after regulators in the US announced a recall of up to 450,000 tyres manufactured by a Chinese company because of a potentially dangerous safety problem. 0 c( I+ W$ {2 r, x . j# j$ M& {% c3 ?& dChina's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said it had impounded the orange pulp in the eastern province of Shandong and the apricots were seized in Shenzhen.' t* e5 \5 S! m: {+ n
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The shipments contained “excessive bacteria, mould and sulphur dioxide”, the agency said, but gave no details about when they were impounded or how big the shipments were.6 o% M0 \! d, @% @6 `
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The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. j. _& P7 M6 o* R3 R
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An executive at a European trading company based in Shanghai said: “We cannot say anything for sure without seeing details about the shipments, but it certainly looks like a way of deflecting some of the attention away from China and its own quality problems.”$ \! X. P% X2 V* V3 U1 ^: u3 p
+ z2 l4 j X5 ^The US government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on Monday the recall of tyres sold by Foreign Tire Sales, a New Jersey distributor, which are used in vans, sports utility vehicles and pick-up trucks. % K" V1 D" g& W2 d1 u3 \8 V+ C( ]" {5 v) r7 f9 U( w
The tyres, made by a Chinese company called Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber, lacked a gum strip that helps strengthen the tyre and prevent tread separation – the problem that caused a massive recall of Firestone tyres in the US in 2000. Officials at Hangzhou Zhongce could not be reached for comment yesterday. 2 m/ H0 b9 `) @/ J& p# l0 O' Q0 N: V! G2 h' O% D' p
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Financial Times
