Mr Li Changjiang told a carefully choreographed talk show on state television that his department, which is in charge of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine, was doing everything possible to check quality and investigate sub-standard goods, especially after Mattel's huge toy recall.

'I'm here to tell you, have faith in made-in-China,' he told a selected group of foreign and Chinese executives and journalists.

'Children are our future, so their health and safety are very important,' added the man leading the counter-offensive to convince the world that Chinese goods are safe.

'We have three million people working hard, making toys to make children around the world happy.'

The Mattel recall affected Big Bird, Elmo and other toys with safety risks involving magnets and lead paint.

The show's host, Mr Chen Weihong, held up a small plastic toy, which was included in the recall, and asked the audience to guess which part contained too much lead.

Eyes? No. Tail? Not that either. Legs? Way out. The answer - the eyebrows, only visible if you looked up close.

'There is no danger. You can hold it with no problem,' Mr Li told Mr Chen when he asked if it was safe to hold.

'The US has told us that there have been no cases of children being harmed.'

Next appeared a wooden toy train set, complete with engines and signals. The only part with too much lead was a small bright red stop sign.

'Children won't eat this sign, or smell it every day. The effect is very limited,' Mr Li said.

'It's exaggerated. In the first example it was the eyebrows which exceeded standards. And in this whole set, it's only the stop sign. It's not fair to say China's products are not up to scratch. Not fair at all.

'Why was the recall so large? Because they couldn't judge exactly which toys had too much lead in them.

'There's no way to distinguish, so they all had to be recalled. More than 99 per cent of our goods meet standards.

'Demonising Chinese products, or talking of the Chinese product threat, is simply a new kind of trade protectionism.'

Curiously, it has been only in the last few months that the made-in-China stamp has attracted suspicion, he said.

'Over the last few years, more than 90 per cent of our exports have been up to standard. It was the same in 2004, in 2005, in 2006 and in the first half of this year. Why have the problems only come to light now? It's very worrying,' he said.

Although Chinese companies would be able to endure such trials, they will face increasing complaints due to bias against China and even jealousy over its growing trade power, he said.

'As globalisation progresses, Chinese products have more and more of the world market, causing other countries to take note,' he said.

'Some groups, such as certain officials, still have some prejudices. In the future, when they see up-to-standard Chinese goods in their homes, and that they are very convenient, and that their families are very happy, they'll change their opinions.'

REUTERS