VZCZCXRO6850
RR RUEHCN RUEHVC
DE RUEHGH #0367/01 2320828
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 200828Z AUG 09
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8227
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 1959
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 8878

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SHANGHAI 000367 
 
CODEL 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM AND EEB 
STATE PASS CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMISSION 
STATE PASS USTR CHINA OFFICE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EIND ETRD PGOV OVIP CH
SUBJECT: SENATOR NELSON RAISES CONCERNS OVER CONTAMINATED DRYWALL 
WITH AQSIQ 
 
SHANGHAI 00000367  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
(U) This message is sensitive but unclassified and for official 
use only. Not for distribution outside of USG channels. 
 
 
 
------- 
 
Summary 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) In an August 11 meeting with senior officials of 
China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, 
Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) 
expressed concern over the devastating impact of contaminated 
drywall imported from China on U.S. households and indicated 
that President Obama might raise the issue with Chinese 
President Hu Jintao in November.  The AQSIQ officials insisted 
that domestically purchased Chinese-produced drywall did not 
show any signs of contamination but emphasized the AQSIQ's 
desire for continued cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product 
Safety Commission (CPSC) on this issue. End Summary. 
 
 
 
----------------------------- 
 
Senator Nelson Voices Concern 
 
----------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) During an August 11 meeting in Shanghai, Senator Nelson 
gave his PRC interlocutors -- AQSIQ Department of Supervision 
and Inspection Deputy Director General Wang Zhiyong and Shanghai 
Municipal China Inspection and Quarantine Bureau (CIQ) Deputy 
Director General Xu Chaozhe -- an impassioned description of the 
impact of Chinese-produced contaminated drywall that had been 
imported to the United States.  He explained that large amounts 
of Chinese-made drywall had been used in Florida in 2004, after 
the state experienced major hurricane damage, and that as many 
as 100,000 homes may have been affected by problems such as 
strong odors, metal corrosion, and respiratory issues linked to 
contaminated drywall.  The Senator noted that the cost of 
replacing drywall was prohibitively high for many families and 
that many people were forced to continue living in their homes 
while being exposed to the contaminated material. 
 
 
 
------------------------------------------- 
 
AQSIQ: Drywall Investigation a Priority... 
 
------------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) DDG Wang stressed to Senator Nelson the importance the 
Chinese Government places on the drywall issue, noting that 
Vice-Premier Wang Qishan had personally ordered AQSIQ to 
investigate the problem.  He also indicated that he had been 
dispatched to Shanghai by AQSIQ Vice-Minister Wei Chuanzhong for 
the sole purpose of meeting with Senator Nelson on this issue. 
Wang added that he was aware the U.S. Consumer Product Safety 
Commission had already received over 600 complaints from 
January-June 2009 on contaminated Chinese drywall. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
...But Has No Reports of Drywall Problems in China 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) Nevertheless, DDG Wang claimed that AQSIQ had not 
 
SHANGHAI 00000367  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
received any domestic complaints over Chinese-produced drywall 
and that AQSIQ researchers are "puzzled" over the cause of the 
contamination in the United States.  According to Wang, AQSIQ's 
own testing of similar types of Chinese-produced drywall had 
failed to reveal chemical emission levels that fall outside 
international standards.  In addition, Wang cited an independent 
investigation carried out on behalf of German drywall 
manufacturer, Knauf, which similarly did not find any problems 
with the company's Chinese-manufactured drywall.  Therefore, 
Wang continued, it was impossible to draw conclusions about 
whether Chinese-produced drywall was responsible for the 
symptoms described by Senator Nelson. 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Wang did acknowledge, however, that AQSIQ only began 
inspecting drywall in 2009 after having been contacted by CPSC, 
which had expressed concern that tainted drywall recently 
discovered in the U.S. had originated in China.  He indicated 
that it was impossible to trace gypsum used in drywall 
manufactured more than one year ago back to its source but did 
not elaborate on why this was the case. 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) DDG Wang said that AQSIQ looked forward to continuing 
to work with the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission on 
this issue and noted that a CPSC experts group would be arriving 
in Beijing on August 17 on the heels of Senator Nelson's visit 
to further its investigation into the drywall problem.  Wang 
also emphasized that AQSIQ had allocated special funding to 
conduct additional tests on Chinese-produced drywall but said 
that these tests were still ongoing and that one needed to wait 
for the tests' results before jumping to conclusions. 
 
 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
Nelson:  Reputation of Chinese Brands Harmed 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Senator Nelson emphasized that tainted drywall had 
further damaged the reputation of Chinese products, much like 
the 2007 lead-paint toy scandal.  Wang responded by noting that 
AQSIQ had cooperated closely with the USG to address the 
lead-paint problem and that CPSC was now receiving fewer 
complaints about Chinese toys.  He added that AQSIQ did not want 
the overall reputation of Chinese manufactured goods to suffer, 
stressing that AQSIQ had been very responsive to CPSC requests 
for information on drywall manufacturers, distribution 
companies, gypsum mines, etc.  Wang admitted that, as a 
developing country, China still faced quality control problems 
with individual products but emphasized that individual cases 
should not provoke a reaction against all Chinese goods. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
POTUS May Discuss Drywall with Hu 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Senator Nelson concluded by stating that President 
Obama may raise the contaminated drywall issue when he meets 
with Chinese President Hu Jintao in November.  The Senator 
expressed his hope that this issue would be resolved before 
then. 
 
 
 
¶9. (U) Senator Nelson's delegation has cleared this message. 
CAMP