The bicycle I bought recently is much better than those I used several years ago. But one small part is still as awkward as its predecessor. The valve in the wheel is slanted towards a spoke, making it very difficult to fasten the pump to it when trying to inflate the tyre. Bicycle manufacturers never seem to pay attention to the position of the valve when mounting the inner tyre on the steel wheel. I have seen too many slant valves, both on my bicycles and other people's, and both today and 20 years ago.

China exports bicycles to many other countries. I don't know if they all have slant valves but it is not rare that Chinese products are rejected because of trivial defects. Such defects have become an excuse for trade protectionists to set technical barriers against Chinese exports.

Quality inspection is a major part of technical barriers in international trade.

Chinese imports inspection authorities last week announced suspension of import of kimchi from the Republic of Korea (ROK), citing the substandard quality of the pickled vegetables. The move followed a similar ban imposed by ROK authorities on imports of Chinese pickles.

One can certainly smell the stink of protectionism in the dispute. But technical barriers are different from out-and-out safeguard measures. They are based on quality standards. Though their formulation sometimes involves arbitrary elements, standards are mostly reasonable, leaving little room for criticism.

In the pickles dispute, for instance, both sides claimed discovery of eggs of parasites. The motives behind the allegation might have been out of protectionism, the results of the quality inspections were factual.

China is a major exporting country. With the rapid growth of exports, China's products are met with more and more technical barriers. Some of the quality standards imposed by importing countries seem to be "too strict" to follow. What shall we do to cope with the new challenge? We might as well lay bare the protectionist motives behind the technical barriers, but we should do something more than complaining. We should give a serious thought to the quality of our products: Are our products really of high standard?

It must be acknowledged that the quality of the products has been greatly improved. But in terms of details, there are still differences between our products and those made in developed countries.

Last month, I ordered a wooden bed from Swedish furniture company Ikea. The bed arrived as a DIY package of wooden boards and bars - I was to assemble them myself. Soon after setting my hands to them, I marveled at the precision of the modular design. The positions of the tenons and mortises were so precise that they fitted each other perfectly. And all symmetrical parts were exactly the same size, making the joining easily done without even the slightest twist or deformation.

Similar products in China, however, are usually not as accurate in details. Many residents of new homes must have experienced the same thing: The bolt on the door or window is often difficult to fit in place because the workman was not careful enough to align it exactly with the socket when installing them.

Things of this kind are not difficult to improve. The workers only need to be a little more careful.

People often complain about the "low quality" of Chinese workers. The workers certainly need to improve themselves. But the root cause of the problem lies in the management. The bed I bought from Ikea was not imported from Sweden. It was made by Chinese workers at Ikea's contracted local plants. The managers strictly followed Ikea's demands on quality and handicraft to every detail.

Chinese enterprises do attach importance to quality control but few of their managers are as meticulous as their counterparts in developed countries when inspecting their products. In most cases, the difference between a Chinese product and the same product made in Europe, Japan and ROK lies only in specifics. The key is the attitude towards work.

Many workplaces in China are still permeated with a sluggish and careless atmosphere. Products turned out in this kind of place can never be possibly as fine and delicate as we see in a developed country.

A factory in Cixi, Zhejiang Province, hoped to become a contracted supplier of office watercoolers to a Japanese company. The Chinese plant presented some sample products, which impressed the Japanese. The potential co-operator was about to sign the deal but asked to have a look at the factory first.

After the visit, the Japanese said: "We can't imagine the beautiful samples were manufactured in such a messy and dirty environment." They left.

The case should be thought-provoking for many Chinese enterprises.

Email: liushinan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/09/2005 page4)