China launches drug recall system putting pressure on companies to withdraw faulty drugs

China launched a nationwide recall system Wednesday that shifts responsibility to companies to recall harmful drugs, a day after U.S. and Chinese officials signed an agreement on the safety of medicine and medical devices.

The recall plan will place Chinese-made drugs and imported drugs in three classes according to their possible danger to people's health, a State Food and Drug Administration official said at a news conference.

Each will have to be recalled within different timeframes, ranging from 24 hours for the most serious drugs, to 72 hours for those deemed less life-threatening.

The global pharmaceutical industry increasingly uses drugs …