By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING, Dec 10 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. official struck a conciliatory tone on product safety on Monday ahead of high-level talks with China likely to be dominated by U.S. fears of substandard Chinese-made food and drugs.

Recalls, mostly by U.S. companies such as giant toymaker Mattel, have stoked worries about cheap Chinese exports, which now account for about three quarters of the world's toys.

Insisting that Washington and Beijing were working well on safety issues, Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt said this was a question of improving the monitoring of imports not only from China but from the rest of the world.

"We think we are on a glide pattern which will produce a successful outcome in our relationship with the Chinese government," Leavitt told reporters in Beijing, on a trip where he will sign agreements to strengthen product safety.

"Our message to China, as well as to every other import/export partner we have, is if you desire to produce goods for the American consumer, you need to meet American standards of quality and safety," he said.

"We want you to know what they are, and we'll work with you to meet them," Leavitt added.

Mattel has recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made products in the past few months. There have also been global scares over tainted pet food, toothpaste and fish from China.

Those scandals have provoked protectionist trade calls from some U.S. politicians, already angered by what they see as China's artificially undervalued currency, the yuan.

But Leavitt said U.S. consumers could also take more responsibility.

"Consumers can in fact do things that would ensure quality for themselves. We encourage them to deal with retailers they trust, to ask those retailers what they're doing and what the process is they're following," he said.

CARRYING STONES, MOVING MOUNTAINS

Food and product safety is likely to dominate cabinet-level Sino-U.S. talks that start on Wednesday just outside Beijing, even if currency issues are on participants' minds, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said last week.

China has repeatedly warned other countries not to make political capital out of trade rows.

They should be dealt with through dialogue on an equal footing, a senior Chinese Commerce Ministry official said in remarks published on Monday.

Chen Deming told the official China Daily he was worried the trend towards politicising trade and economic issues could mount as the November 2008 U.S. presidential election approaches.

He said growing economic independence meant the two countries had more and more common interests that called for cooperation.

"We should avoid unreasonably and unilaterally blaming the other side," Chen added.

Leavitt said he was not in China to blame anyone.

"This is about building bridges. We have different systems but common goals," he said.

Ensuring a proper, fully functioning system was in place to ensure the safety of imports would take time, Leavitt added.

"I think there's a Chinese proverb -- the man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. This is not going to happen overnight. It will not function perfectly at the beginning.

"Really what we are talking about is change. Change is hard." (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; editing by Roger Crabb)

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