BRUSSELS - China will set up its own alert system to report dangerous consumer products imported into its market, a visiting Chinese official said on Thursday.

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Zhi Shuping, Minister of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), told a press conference that China needs to ensure safety of imported consumer products while enhancing quality of domestically manufactured goods.

According to the minister, China imported products valued at $1394.8 billion during 2010, registering an increase of 38.7 percent over the previous year.

With the significant increase in imported goods, China needs to take measures to protect the interests of its consumers, Zhi said.

He also expressed hope to deepen existing cooperation with the European Union (EU) on monitoring safety of consumer products.

The EU introduced the rapid alert system for non-food dangerous products (RAPEX) in 2004. RAPEX-China application was established in 2006. Under the system, the European Commission submits information to AQSIQ about dangerous products of Chinese origin reported on the EU market. And China provides quarterly and yearly reports to the European Commission about the follow-up actions taken concerning the reported dangerous products.