China will continue its efforts in testing and controlling toys for export to guarantee their quality and safety, according to the State General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine.

"China will continue mobilizing great human resources and funds into toy quality testing," said Yuan Changxiang, director of the administration's test and control department, at a China-EU forum on toy safety on Thursday.

According to him, China has established five special laboratories for toy quality testing and is spending more than 20 million yuan (US$2.4 million) in the testing every year.

Chinese quality supervision departments will also develop cooperation with the European Union to learn the latest information about toy quality and safety and modern testing methods.

A world leading toy exporter, China has more than 8,000 toy companies, which employ 3 million workers and yield more than 50 billion yuan (US$6 billion) in output value a year.

China issued a set of regulations on the quality and safety of toys in 2003, which took effect in October the following year.

"This signifies that the Chinese government pays great heed to toy quality and is making efforts to improve the quality of toys, aiming at reaching international standards," Yuan said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 18, 2005)