China’s state media on Monday welcomed U.S. toy maker Mattel’s apology over its recalls of Chinese-made toys, saying that although overdue it should help restore the country’s sullied export reputation, the Associated Press reports.
Mattel apologized in Beijing on Friday for recalling 21 million toys this summer, the majority of which had small magnets that could fall out and be harmful to children if swallowed.
Mattel acknowledged the problem was a design flaw – not the fault of Chinese manufacturers.
However, the recalls also included hundreds of thousands of toys found to be decorated with hazardous lead-tainted paint. Mattel said the company pulled more of those toys off shelves than necessary and made Chinese manufacturers look bad.
