The biggest cost to China from the wave of product recalls isn't shuttered toy factories or wasted toothpaste: It's the damage to its aspirations to become a center of high-quality production.

"China's leaders want its exporters to move into higher- value sectors,'' said Mark Williams, an economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in London. ``Perceptions that Chinese goods are poor quality, or even dangerous, will make this hard.''

China's economic planners have been seeking to emulate Japan, which promoted a relentless focus on quality control as its manufacturers shifted after World War II from making toys, trinkets and bicycle lamps to technologically advanced cameras and transistor radios. After years of consistent improvements, Japanese companies such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp. won the trust of consumers worldwide.

"Japan's economic miracle was that it went from being an outsourced, unbranded manufacturer to a producer of brands,'' said Simon Anholt, a London-based policy adviser who created an index that tracks public perceptions of nations. ``The Chinese export economy is following pretty much the same path.''

China set out its goals in a five-year plan that runs through 2010.

"A stable, economical, clean and safe energy supply system must be built,'' the plan states, adding that industry will move from assembling to designing and producing high-technology brands.

Polluted Lakes, Rivers

Among the benefits would be a 20 percent drop in the use of energy per unit of gross domestic product and a 30 percent decline in water consumption. One-third of China's lakes, rivers and coastal waters are polluted, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

A drumbeat of highly publicized product recalls is making these goals seem more like a dream.

On Sept. 21 the maker of Graco and Simplicity cribs recalled 1 million Chinese-made cribs with design flaws after three children died.

A day earlier, Sesame Workshop warned that it may quit doing business with companies that make toys based on its Sesame Street television characters if it can't get assurances the $100 million of products it licenses are safe.

The U.S. Grocery Manufacturers Association wants Congress to double funding so regulators can increase import inspections after tainted seafood from China raised concerns over the safety of what Americans eat.

Death Sentence

China's reaction has been swift, and sometimes severe. In July, Zheng Xiaoyu, the chief drug regulator from 1998 to 2005, was executed after being convicted on corruption charges. Zheng took bribes and allowed six fake drugs to be approved during his tenure, according to Xinhua, the state news agency.

Vice Premier Wu Yi was drafted to lead a safety task force. A four-month quality campaign includes checks on food producers and more-stringent inspections for exports of toys.

At least 2,000 unlicensed factories have been closed and more than 1,000 drug and medical-device companies have had their licenses revoked.

While Mattel Inc. has shouldered blame for the recall of 18 million potentially dangerous toys because of its own design flaws, its apology hasn't quelled voices in the U.S. Congress calling for tougher action against China.

A `Feeble' Response

Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, calls China's response to safety concerns ``feeble.'' Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, a Democratic presidential candidate, has called for the U.S. to suspend food, toy and pet-food imports from China.

"I am worried by the end of the day, and possibly by the end of the year, we'll face a raft of anti-China legislation passed through both houses,'' said Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley in Asia. ``That is worrisome for the world.''

The proportion of exports caught up in safety scares is small. Toys represented less than 1 percent of China's $969 billion of overseas sales last year. The items recalled by El Segundo, California-based Mattel, the world's largest toymaker, equal 0.3 percent of the 6.2 billion toys imported by the U.S. in 2006, according to the government.

At the same time, the damage to China's reputation is increasing: In the second quarter, it finished next to last in the Anholt Nations Brand Index; only Indonesia fared worse. The survey of 29,500 people in 35 countries measures how favorably consumers respond to a product after learning where it is made. China was 31st out of 40 in the previous three months.

More bad publicity will make China's transition harder, Anholt said.

"If Chinese products were suddenly fantastically good -- very good value, advanced technology, beautiful design -- it would take 10 years before people believed it,'' he said.