The European Commission and China on Monday signed a renewed and extended Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation on product safety controls.

The document was signed here by EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, and Wei Chuanzhong, vice minister of Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ).

The document, first inked in 2006, upgrades the existing RAPEX-China system (Rapid Alert System for dangerous goods) including clear obligations for quarterly reporting on enforcement actions to track down dangerous goods.

The upgraded MoU will provide China for the first time with immediate access to the EU's Rapid Alert System for Feed and Food, and in particular, to the system's notifications that concern China.

(Xinhua News Agency November 18, 2008)