A frenzy of media reports worldwide has raised alerts about defective Chinese goods at a time when European Union and Chinese officials are meeting to solidify terms of their consumer protection system.

"I have come to China with one, very clear objective in mind: To answer the questions that people are asking me about product safety and goods from China," Meglena Kuneva, European commissioner for consumer protection, said at a Beijing press conference July 24. "We need to face up to those questions and have answers."

Not content to dismiss what some Chinese officials have criticized as sensationalism in the foreign media, Kuneva was keen to ground her remarks on facts. She noted that in her meetings with Chinese officials "the argument of excessive reporting on the side of the media hasn't been raised, which gives me the feeling that the Chinese authorities are taking very seriously all the arguments."

Kuneva said facts and accountability were central to her Beijing agenda. Between visits to toy factories and a testing laboratory, Kuneva met with Li Changjiang, minister of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. She also met Zhou Bohua, minister of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

A key purpose of these meetings, said Kuneva, was to discuss China's commitment to strictly report dangerous goods.

The EU-China Rapid Alert System (RAPEX), a framework established in 2006 for monitoring dangerous Chinese exports to Europe, has so far produced two quarterly reports from the Chinese government. The European Commission originally requested monthly reports, but later agreed to a quarterly system. Nevertheless, Kuneva explained, "this has not been executed properly, because two reports are not what we expected. That's one of the reasons we have this meeting."

According to the RAPEX annual report last year, 50 percent of all dangerous consumer goods on the European market were Chinese. Even taking into account the huge proportion of goods imported from China, Kuneva said, "50 percent is too high."

RAPEX includes an alert system for dangerous goods. Kuneva said the Chinese are required to -- and have the capacity to -- "track down" the source of goods identified through the system.

Kuneva stressed that there is no double standard for EU trade; every country, including those in Europe, must meet the same requirements. She thinks there is a room for improvement on all sides.

The next report on Chinese consumer goods is due in October, before a November EU-China Summit where European Commission President Joe Manuel Barroso and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao plan to meet.