China seeks early textile talks with US
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-06-23 11:25

China, fresh from reaching a textiles accord with the European Union, said on Wednesday it hopes new talks with the United States can start as soon as possible.

China canceled export quotas at the start of the year in line with the end of a global quota system. But surges in textile and clothing exports upset Europe and the United States which sought to impose safeguards.

A woman works in a textle factory in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang Province in this picture taken on June 22, 2005. [newsphoto]

China agreed to limit annual growth in exports of various categories of textiles to the European Union to between 8 and 12.5 percent, averting a possible trade war.

But it is still negotiating with the United States.

Zhao Hong, assistant representative of the Trade Negotiation Office under the Ministry of Commerce, told Xinhuanet.com that China and the United States had briefed each other on their "preliminary stances" in the first round of technical talks which began on Friday.

"The two sides both have the intention to resolve the issue through cooperation," said Zhao. "We are working vigorously and hope the second round of talks can begin as soon as possible."

She said China hoped the disputes can be resolved through bilateral negotiations, but refused to rule out the possibility of seeking World Trade Organization (WTO) intervention.

China has stressed that the limit on China's textile goods and garments would harm the interests of not only Chinese businesses, but also consumers, dealers and importers in the United States.

Lu Jianhua, director of the foreign trade department of the ministry, told the Web site that U.S. cotton producers may also eventually suffer from the limit on imports of Chinese clothing.

Many Chinese textiles exporters have enjoyed better business since the agreement with the European Union, state media reported, attributing the rise to the removal of uncertainty.

"The deal reduced the harm toward China's textile industry to the lowest level," Cao Xinyu, deputy director of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Textiles, told state radio.

Li Linmin, vice president of a textile import and export company, was equally exuberant.

"These days, our orders have recovered very fast and our prices will rise too."