BEIJING - CHINA on Tuesday laid part of the blame for poor product safety on foreign companies whose designs were flawed, as millions of parents around the world prepared to buy Chinese-made toys for Christmas.

In a defiant response to a reporter's question on toy safety, foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China took product safety seriously but toy producers in the country should also be careful of foreign-made designs.

'Some Chinese toy producers produce their products according to the designs of their foreign clients and then it turns out that there are problems with the designs of these products,' Mr Qin said.

'Those designs were produced by the foreign side so here we remind our Chinese producers to not only pay attention to production, but also be careful with the designs by the foreign parties.' China is the world's biggest toy exporter, with total sales of 60 billion toys in 2006, amounting to 60 per cent of the world market.

But concerns have mounted over the years about the safety of China-made products following a series of scandals, ranging from dairy products, to tyres, toothpaste, dog food and toys.

Mr Qin said Chinese authorities had been strengthening inspections on toys, particularly those destined for exports.

'Christmas is coming and we hope that children all around the world will enjoy a Happy Christmas,' he said. -- AFP