Induced by US domestic political factors, the recent trade friction between US and China poses a serious threat to the world economy, experts here said.

However, they noted that there is little chance for the friction to develop into a full-scale trade war.

Last week, the US government said it would impose new limits on China's exports of three kinds of textile products to the US, and meanwhile, it said investigation would be carried out on China's wooden bedroom furniture under suspected dumping charges.

On Monday, the US slapped dumping duties on color TVs imported from China.

In response, China canceled a planned trade mission to the United States to sign contracts for soybeans and other farm produce, and China is likely to boost tariffs on some U.S. products.

A tit-for-tat trade war seems imminent. Nevertheless, analysts cited America's emerging protectionism as one of the measures for the Bush administration to reduce its soaring trade deficit and therefore gain more support in next year's presidential election.

According to the American Dow-Jones News Service, although there are US-China trade disputes, both sides preferred to resolve problems through negotiation rather than intensifying them through tariffs.

US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan acknowledged that rising trade barriers could make America less competitive.

And Stephen Roach, chief economist and managing director of Morgan Stanley criticized the US government, saying that such moves are actually charging extra taxes on American consumers.

The US has begun seven anti-dumping cases against China this year, targeting products valued at about 1.6 billion US dollars, and the Chinese government has urged the United States to take a fair approach in tackling trade problems, said an Chinese official with the Ministry of Commerce.

(Xinhua News Agency November 27, 2003)