In USA, to establish a claim to recover for harm caused by a defective product, American tort law demands that at the very least plaintiff establish:

(1) that the plaintiff’s harm results from a product defect; and

(2) that the product was defective when it left the hands of the defendant-distributor.

On one hand, when the plaintiff can establish a manufacturing defect such that the product unit doesn’t conform to the manufacturer’s own intended design, it is sufficient to prove that the product was defective, regardless of whether the distributor was at fault or not. On the other hand, when products cause injury, claimants often suspect that a product defect was the culprit. Let us assume that the plaintiff is correct. The product that caused the injury was indeed defective at the time of the accident. Plaintiff is only half way home. It must also be established that the product was defective when it left the hands of the defendant. Surely, a defendant who distributed a perfectly good product that was rendered defective by someone afterwards doesn’t bear legal responsibility for the claimant’s injury.

  But it is quite different in China to establish a claim to recover for harm caused by a defective product. First, if a substandard product causes property damage or physical injury to others, the manufacturer or seller shall bear civil liability, in Article 122 General principles of the Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China. Second, according to stipulations in China Product Quality Law enacted in 1993 and amended later in 2000,

   1. a manufacturer shall be liable for compensation if his defective product causes damage to human life or property other than the defective product itself (hereinafter referred to as another person’s property);

   2. where damage to human life or another person property is due to a products defect caused by the fault of a seller, the seller shall be liable for compensation;

  3. where the seller can identify neither the producer of the defective product nor the supplier thereof, the seller shall be liable for compensation;

  4. where a defective product causes damage to human life or another persons property, the victim may claim compensation from the manufacturer and may also claim compensation from the seller of such product;

  5. where the liability falls on the producer, but the seller has made the compensation, the seller shall have the right to recover the loss from the manufacturer;

  6. where the liability falls on the seller, but the manufacturer has made the compensation, the manufacturer shall have the right to recover the loss from the seller;

  7. a manufacturer shall not be liable for compensation if he can prove the existence of any of the following circumstances:(1) The product has not been put in circulation;(2) The defect causing the damage did not exist at the time when the product was put in circulation;(3) The science and technology at the time the product was put in circulation was at a level incapable of detecting the defect.