Spot quality checks on a range of Chinese domestic consumer products in the first quarter of the year show that over 20 percent fail to reach quality standards.

The checks, carried out by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), revealed that 79.7 percent were up to standard.

An AQSIQ official said that in the first quarter, a total of 1,844 products from 1,599 companies were checked. Investigation showed 81.2 percent of food and ordinary commodities, 73.4 percentof industrial capital goods and 85.6 percent of agricultural capital goods were qualified.

(People's Daily  May 9, 2004)