Chinese and European Union trade officials held technical-level
consultations in Beijing on Thursday, to resolve the Chinese
textile imports issue, the Ministry of Commerce
said.
Both Lu Jianhua, director of the Foreign Trade Department, and
Fritz-Harald Wenig, head of the EU trade team, had "earnest
negotiations" over the issue, the ministry said in a statement late
on Thursday.
Lu expressed China's concern over the textile products stuck at
customs at EU ports, while Wenig highlighted that the over-quota
products are not in the interests of EU traders and consumers.
China's textile exports to the EU were valued at US$2.1 billion
in June when the two sides signed a textile memorandum of
understanding, up 85 percent year-on-year, the ministry said.
This was vastly different from the sharp decline in exports in
April and May following the EU's move to impose restrictions.
China and the EU reached an agreement in June, setting new
quotas on ten categories of textile products from China. But the
quotas were quickly used up because many EU importers and retailers
had bulk-ordered goods from China months before the new quotas
kicked in.
(Xinhua News Agency August 26, 2005)