Another week, another safety scandal involving Chinese exports: Mattel, the US toymaker, is recalling 1.5m toys because the paint contains too much lead. That follows a recall of Thomas the Tank Engine toys and problems with other contaminated Chinese-made products ranging from toothpaste to pet food.

Tempting though it may be for US politicians on the campaign trail to pounce on China – first they take our jobs, the putative script goes, then they kill our cats and poison our children – the recent revelations about unsafe Chinese exports should not be used as an excuse for protectionist rhetoric or the erection of new trade barriers.