Chinese Move Highlights Nostalgic Irony

Back during the Cold War with the Soviet Union, when one side expelled spies, a similar move was made on the other side. No worries, it's just the way business was done. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and soon others were sent in to take their place.

But now that the Cold War is over, the "Trade War" is on. And this time it's with China.

From the IHT:

Raisins and health supplements imported from the United States failed to meet Chinese safety standards and have been returned or destroyed, the country's food safety agency said Friday.

The move comes as China itself faces international criticism, especially in the United States, over a series of scandals that have plagued Chinese food, drugs and other products from poisoned cough syrup to tainted toothpaste and pet food.

Inspectors in the ports of Ningbo and Shenzhen found bacteria and sulfur dioxide in products shipped by three American companies, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said.

"The products failed to meet the sanitary standards of China," the agency said in a brief notice posted on its Web site...

Of course, there is no information given on how many people in China got sick on American products. But the one part that gives this away as a farce can be found in this sentence from the article:

...No details were given on when or how the inspections were conducted.

If I am making an educated guess, I would say, this was already decided before the ships hit the port. But hey, that's just me.