EU, China talk to settle textile row
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-06-10 10:29

EU trade chief Peter Mandelson said ahead of a trip to China that he wanted to reach "an enduring agreement" with Beijing in a growing row over booming Chinese textile imports into the European Union.

EU trade chief Peter Mandelson said Thursday, ahead of a trip to China, that he wanted to reach 'an enduring agreement' with Beijing in a growing row over booming Chinese textile imports into the European Union. [AFP/file]

"I am going to China either to agree a way of dealing with the dramatic textile import surge or, if necessary, to explain, face to face, why the EU needs to introduce measures of its own," Mandelson said Thursday.

"My preference is for an enduring agreement which brings predictability for traders in China and Europe and stability in our wider relations," he added.

The EU delegation office in Beijing said earlier Thursday that Mandelson will hold talks with Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai in Shanghai on Friday to try to reach an accord on soaring Chinese textile exports to Europe.

China's Ministry of Commerce confirmed the meeting arrangement on Thursday. Minister Bo Xilai is in Shanghai attending the WTO forum on service trade, so the meeting will be held in Shanghai. 

The EU has requested formal talks at the World Trade Organisation with China on the issue, citing a huge jump in Chinese imports of T-shirts and flax yarn into the EU following the end of a global textile quota system on January 1.

Under the rules on China's WTO accession in 2001, a request for talks enables Beijing's trading partners to place a temporary cap on textile imports, if China does not first take its own voluntary measures within 15 days.

That deadline ends on Friday.

Although the European Commission has so far taken action only against Chinese imports of T-shirts and flax yarn, Brussels has been in negotiations to get a blanket agreement covering other categories of textiles still being investigated.

"We should be fair to China, while creating a much-needed breathing space for European industry and offering some relief to developing country textile exports to Europe.

"I want a settlement that helps everyone's interests."

The textile row risks escalating, after the EU commission said Wednesday it had found evidence of a 700 percent jump in imports of six types of Chinese-made shoes in the first four months of the year when compared with the same period in 2004.

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