More than 40 percent of consumer goods exported to China last year through e-commerce platforms fell short of standards, China's top quality watchdog said.
Last year, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine conducted random quality inspections on 1,013 batches of such products, including consumer goods such as toys, paper diapers, clothing and kitchenware, with 415 found to be substandard, accounting for 40.9 percent of all sampled products, according to Han Yunping, spokesman for the administration.
In addition to meeting quality standards, imported products must be correctly labeled in Chinese, according to national regulations.
The quality of consumer goods imported through channels other than e-commerce proved to be higher, with only 29 percent falling short of standards, according to figures released by the administration.
It organized two large-scale inspections last year, involving more than 5,300 batches of imported consumer goods, such as air purifiers, car brake blocks, household electrical appliances and clothes, with more than 1,500 found to be substandard, Han said.
Last year, quality supervision authorities across China handled 36,000 cases relating to violations of laws on quality standards, involving 2.3 billion yuan's ($333 million) worth of goods, Han said.
"Quality supervision authorities at all levels must intensify quality supervision and keep cracking down on law violations to improve the quality of products and protect consumers' rights," said Mei Kebao, deputy head of the administration.