(Adds comments from Chinese officials, Japanese ex-minister) BEIJING, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Tests in China have found no trace of a pesticide that Japan says caused at least 10 people to fall ill after eating Chinese-made dumplings, China's top quality watchdog said on Saturday. China is sending a team of experts to Japan to help investigate the incident, according to a statement from the regulator reported by the official Xinhua news agency. The scare has dominated Japanese media and triggered recalls and floods of queries from worried consumers. It also prompted Japan's government spokesman to question China's attitude to food safety only weeks after Beijing said it had improved standards with new technology and tighter inspections. Japan's foreign minister on Friday expressed hope that the effect on ties, always sensitive due to China's bitter wartime memories and present regional rivalry, could be minimised. China's Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday that the Chinese government "sincerely cares about the poisoned Japanese and hopes that they recover soon". Former Japanese foreign minister Taro Aso, known for outspoken remarks and sometimes touted as a possible prime minister, said on Saturday that the affair had underscored the value of home-grown products. "I've been saying that Japanese agricultural products are expensive but taste good and are clean and safe," Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted him as saying in a speech in southern Japan. "To be blunt, the agricultural cooperatives should thank China. Great value has been added (to Japanese products)," he added. Japanese media reports said the insecticide found in the suspect dumplings was used widely in China, but not in Japan. However, Xinhua quoted officials from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine as saying tests on 30 samples of frozen dumplings, ingredients and packaging taken at the factory concerned had found no pesticide. Tian Yang Food Plant in the northern province of Hebei makes dumplings only for the Japanese market. Cheng Fang, a provincial quality inspector, told a news conference that tests had shown that none of Tian Yang's suppliers had used the substance in question. Di Menglu, head of the factory, said the firm would cooperate with investigations, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported. "On behalf of all factory workers, we offer our condolences to the Japanese consumers and hope for the early recovery of the people who fell ill," Di was quoted as telling a news conference. The 30-year-old company was ordered this week to stop production and exports and recall its products, according to Wang Daning, head of the food import and export safety division at the Chinese quality agency. (Reporting by Alan Wheatley in Beijing and Linda Sieg in Tokyo; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
A passenger waits on the platform at a railway station in China's southern city of Guangzhou late February 1, 2008. China is not yet over the worst of a winter weather ...
