On Friday, Mattel, the world's largest toymaker, acknowledged that the company's design flaws and safety control system — rather than Chinese manufacturing glitches — were to blame for the recent recalls of tens of millions of toys.

According to news accounts, Thomas A. Debrowski, Mattel's executive vice president for worldwide operations, apologized to China for harming the reputation of Chinese manufacturers.

"Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys," Debrowski told Li Changjiang, the head of China's product-safety operation, in a visit to Beijing.

"The core problem for the recalled toys was the design flaw, instead of the manufacturers," said Stefano Solo, an expert of the EU Consumer Affairs Commission, in a commentary from China news agency Xinhua. "The American toy firm ought to be responsible for the design flaws as well as the safety problems caused, rather than blaming the Chinese manufacturers."

China's state media yesterday welcomed the toymaker's apology over its recalls of Chinese-made toys, saying that, although overdue, it should help restore the country's sullied export reputation.

"The apology, though delayed, should help dispel the suspicion American customers harbor against Chinese-made products and clean up the stain the recalls left on the innocent Chinese workers who make a living doing honest labor," the official English-language China Daily newspaper reported (via The Washington Post). The state-run Guangzhou Daily said in an editorial Monday that Mattel's apology was a little late "but at least it redressed injustice against toys made in China."

Yet it remains unclear whether the less-than-obvious misunderstanding lies in previous widespread accounts of Chinese-made products (i.e., the concern of the "Made in China" label) or in the latest account of the apology made by Mattel in China.

As another Washington Post piece sums up succinctly: "Just what the apology meant, however, was caught up in translation."

Apparently, Mattel has challenged various news accounts of Debrowski's meeting in Beijing, saying that they had mischaracterized his remarks and that Mattel sent the executive to the meeting to apologize to consumers in China — not to manufacturers there — The New York Times reported a spokesperson as having said.

Mattel said in a statement on Friday: "Some reports of Mattel's meeting today with Chinese officials have been mischaracterized. Since Mattel toys are sold the world over, Mattel apologized to the Chinese [Friday] just as it has wherever its toys are sold."

Debrowski's remarks, it seems, were not intended to address harm that has come to the reputation of Chinese-made products as Mattel and other companies recalled millions of toys, the spokesperson said.

Debrowski admitted that Mattel recalled more toys than necessary, and that only a small percentage of the recalls were lead-paint related, as reported by Forbes.

Follow-up to: China Declares War on Dangerous Products