Chinese province 'may sue Mattel'

Mattel admitted that 85% of the recall was due to design flaws

China's Guangdong province is likely to join a planned libel suit against the US toy giant Mattel, according to the China Daily.

Mattel recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made toys this summer, but later said that 85% of the recall was due to its own design faults.

Many of the toy factories involved were based in Guangdong in southern China.

Lida Plastic Toy Co, based in Foshan City in Guangdong, is also reported to be planning to support the suit.

No details were given of when the suit might be filed with a US court.

"The incident has stained the reputation of Chinese toy manufacturers and made a large number of toy factories in Guangdong lose a great deal of money," Chen Lipeng, director of the province's fair trade bureau, was quoted as saying.

"A simple apology cannot compensate for the losses," he added.