The Japan Bearing Industrial Association trade group (JBIA; website) recently visited China's Shandong Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision (website).

The key activity was JBIA's presentation to the Vice Inspector and staff about the wide-ranging threats posed by counterfeit bearings -- not only on the basis safety and trademark protection, but also as they impact trade relations and China's overall position in the industry. Central to the discussion were the topics of how best to identify and crack down on counterfeit bearing manufacturers and distributors.

The effort by JBIA in China has been ongoing for several years, as factories in China are the primary source of counterfeit bearings. Since 2000, JBIA teams have been making trips, "to explain to Chinese government authorities the risk of injury or death presented by imitation bearings and to request that they enact tighter controls in order to eliminate the manufacture and sale of Chinese-made imitation bearings."