China needs to improve product quality to secure the reputation of the "Made in China" label, Premier Wen Jiabao said during a meeting yesterday that set out punishments for food and drug firms that violate standards.

"Product quality relates to our people's interest, the survival and development of our enterprises and the image of our nation," Wen told the meeting on product quality.

"It is a timely, urgent and important job and also a long-term and enduring task for us to fully improve the quality of Chinese products," Wen said.

China will raise standards for products relating to human health and safety to prevent problematic exports from leaving the country, he said.

Authorities will also check every stage of food production to make the "Made in China" label a symbol for quality goods, Wen said.

Producers of food and drugs that break safety laws face fines of up to 100,000 yuan (US$13,220), can have operation certificates or export permits cancelled and risk arrest, according to regulations on the central government Website.

From December 2006 to May 2007, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine discovered 23,000 cases of fake and low-quality food, involving 200 million yuan. A total of 180 food manufacturers were shut down during the period.

Wen said China will strengthen exchanges and cooperation with other countries on food safety.

"We understand good product quality is the most persuasive argument," said Wen. "We will not evade the problems, but oppose biased media reports, trade protectionism and discrimination."

China's Cabinet yesterday published a special regulation on the supervision of food safety amid serious criticism from home and abroad of the quality of food exports.

The regulation is aimed at intensifying the control over producers and distributors dealing with food products. The main points are:

Inspection and quarantine authorities, as well as commercial and drug supervisors, should establish positive and negative records for Chinese food exporters and submit the records to the media regularly.

Local governments at county level and above are mainly responsible for the supervision of food product safety.

Food exporters who provide fake quality certificates or evade quality and quarantine inspections will be fined three times the product's value.

Since China's food standards were called into question, China has:

Announced talks with the US to sign an agreement on food safety by December.

Established food safety mechanisms with trade partners including the US, European Union, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Planned a high-profile work team to supervise and coordinate product quality and food safety, and announced severe penalties for those breaking the law.

The Ministry of Agriculture will complete a campaign by the year end to stop the use of banned substances.