China-Made Toy Recalls

Starting in June, U.S. importers recalled more than 21 million China-made toys for containing lead paint, loose magnets or cheap industrial solvent.

Most recently, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 4.2 million China-made Aqua Dots sets on November 8.

However, in fact only 0.9 percent of 3 billion toys sold in the United States each year have been recalled, and the majority of recalls were for design flaws, not manufacturing problems.

Besides this, differences in quality and safety standards are another reason why a considerable proportion of exported toys have come under scrutiny.

In September, Mattel, the world's largest toy company, issued an official apology to China for the design defects and damaging the reputation of China-made toys, which account for up to 80 percent of the toys sold in the United States.