China insists '99 percent' of its exports safe as Fisher-Price recalls toys

China insisted Thursday more than 99 percent of its exports were safe as US giant Fisher-Price announced it was recalling nearly one million Chinese-made toys over fears they might be toxic.

Commerce Minister Bo Xilai's reassurance was made public as concern seemed to be growing in Beijing over the potential fall-out from a slew of cases involving shoddily made and dangerous products from China.

"More than 99 percent of the products China exports are of good quality and are safe," Bo said in a statement posted on his ministry's website.

"We hope that the relevant sides will handle Chinese products in an objective, fair and rational manner. This should not impact the normal development of trade."

He added that "China attaches great importance to the quality and safety of its products."

The comments were posted after Fisher-Price on Wednesday said it was recalling 967,000 toys including popular Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer-branded toys sold in US stores between May and August this year.

"Paint on some of these products could contain lead in excess of permissible levels," the company said in a statement.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission warned that "consumers should immediately take the recalled toys away from children and contact Fisher-Price."

The recall covered around 80 types of toys, including playsets, toy vehicles, figures and musical instruments, many connected to the Nickelodeon children's TV network.

The company also said cautioned that some of its potentially dangerous toys might be on sale elsewhere around the world.

"Mattel is working with retailers worldwide to identify affected products, have them removed from retail shelves and intercept incoming shipments and stop them from being sold," the company statement said.

Fisher-Price, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc., said the items were produced by a single contract manufacturer in China but did not give the company's name or location.

"We realise that parents trust us with what is most precious to them -- their children. And we also recognise that trust is earned," Mattel chairman and chief executive Robert Eckert said in a statement.

"Our goal is to correct this problem, improve our systems and maintain the trust of the families that have allowed us to be part of their lives by acting responsibly and quickly to address their concerns."

China is the world's biggest exporter of toys but the industry has been battered by a storm of bad publicity in recent months alongside a wide range of Chinese-made products that have raised health and safety concerns overseas.

Millions of Thomas and Friends toys were recalled in the United States and Europe because the Chinese manufacturer allegedly substituted lead-free paint with a cheaper, lead-based version, in a similar case to Fisher-Price.

A report by China's safety watchdog in May said more than 20 percent of toys made for its domestic market were substandard or potentially dangerous.

And in the European Union, toys last year overtook electrical appliances as the type of Chinese product most likely to trigger product-safety alerts, the EU said recently.

In an effort to improve its toy industry, China said last month it would test each new product for safety risks before it could be manufactured and carry out random factory inspections and sample testing.

However, a senior quality supervision official warned then that completely eliminating unsafe toy exports would be a challenge "because of the huge volume of goods involved."

China exported 17.8 billion dollars worth of toys in 2006.

Other overseas health and safety scares to have tarnished the "Made in China" brand have included seafood, toothpaste, pet food and car tyres.