A Comparison Study On Product Quality Supervision Between China And The United States

The quality security of product is an important factor related with people’s health,economic development and stability of society. Government supervision for product quality iscommon practice. European countries and the United States have formed a system of riskmanagement during product quality supervision, taking risk prevention and control as the core.The system is based upon risk analysis, and the risk is strictly prevented and controlled beforeproducts are consumed, ensuring the safety of consumers. Though the Chinese governmentstarted to introduce the concept of risk management in2008, product quality risk managementis newborn in China, and questions such as a hazy understanding and unclear measures forrisk management still exist. Therefore, it is both of theoretical value and practical significanceto compare the product quality supervision systems of China and the United States, find outthe problems, enhance our understanding, and develop improvement measures based on riskmanagement.On the theoretical basis of risk management and government regulation theory, westudied the product quality supervision systems of China and the United States, used themethods of comparative analysis and case study, and analyzed the product quality situationsand supervision systems of the two countries, focused on the problems and confusion weconfronted. Further, we compared the differences and similarities between the managementconcept, the supervision system design, the measures and implementations between the twocountries, and pointed out the deficiency of product quality risk management in China. Basedon the current national conditions, we analyzed the application from a practical point of view,and gave a recommendation to establish and complete the product quality risk managementsystem of China.This study concluded that there were significant differences in product quality riskmanagement between China and the United states. The United States fully introduced riskmanagement concept and made it the guiding ideology in product quality supervision, withprotecting consumers’ health and safety as its core. In the United States, the play of marketregulation mechanism was sufficient, the risk management measures were made full use ofand an open, unified and efficient system of product quality risk management was formed.Meanwhile, the risk management concept in China was immature, and the guiding ideologyof risk management was not obvious. Guide of protecting consumers’ safety and of othersexisted simultaneously, such as servicing companies and promoting economic development. Besides, the play of market regulation mechanism was limited, the risk management measureswere insufficient, and the implements was not complete in our country. Finally, in order toimprove the efficiency and effectiveness of product quality supervision in China, suggestionsincluded changing the concept of risk management, making system and organizational designelaborately, making full use of risk management measures, focusing on protecting consumers’health and safety in the concept of product quality supervision, breaking the currentdepartment pattern and forming a unified and open management system.