China had shown willingness to compromise on a proposal restricting developing countries' ability to shield entire industrial sectors from lower tariff cuts. It had indicated its willingess to liberalise some services sectors, he said.

China was ready to intensify its bilateral links with other WTO members, especially developing countries, he said.

The Chinese minister's disappointment was shared by other top negotiators at the talks.

"This is a very painful failure and a real setback for the global economy at a time when we really needed some good news," an emotional EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson told reporters.

The collapse would caused a "harsh setback" for business and wasted "a major opportunity" for the cloudy world economy, said Ludwig Georg Braun, president of the Federation of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce.

It's the time to reach a multilateral trade agreement to give the world economy a boost, said Bernd Pfaffenbach, state secretary of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.

"We can not afford any lengthy idle period," and the German government will insist on a resumption of the talks as soon as possible, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency via agencies July 30, 2008)