"Yes, there has been improvement (in China) but... there is a need for more stepped-up reforms of the market and market surveillance," Meglena Kuneva, the European Commissioner for Consumer Protection, told reporters in Beijing.

If even "one percent" of consumer products prove unsafe, "this is still dangerous for European consumers and also for Chinese as well," Kuneva said following a meeting with Li Changjiang, head of China's top product-quality watchdog.

China has come under increasing pressure from its trading partners following reports of a number of Chinese-made goods that posed health risks.

Reports in the United States of poisonous pet food ingredients, dangerous toys and drugs, fish pumped with banned antibiotics and other products from China have led to a spate of recalls and bans there.

"I encourage and will continue to encourage at every possible level -- political, technical, personal -- our Chinese partners to do more to defend the good name and the good quality of Chinese products," she said.

Kuneva also called for deeper Chinese participation in an EU system known as RAPEX that enables rapid international exchange of information on potentially dangerous products.

"We know if we prove this system is good enough, this is one clear way for more intense regulation and trust in the market," she said.

China's involvement in the system has so far been only marginal, EU officials said.

While repeating Chinese government assertions that safety fears are being overblown abroad, Li pledged China would do more to crack down on unsafe goods and increase international cooperation.

"China will try to improve its work in order to guarantee the quality of our exported products," said Li, who heads the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.