BEIJING, May 19: China appealed to the United States on Thursday to settle a dispute over surging Chinese textile imports through dialogue instead of imposing quotas unilaterally. “No side should take unilateral actions,” said Kong Quan, spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry. “We hope the US side could solve relevant problems through dialogue and in a constructive manner.”
Washington this week slapped two new sets of quotas on Chinese textiles following complaints that a surge of Chinese apparel was hurting US companies. The US has the power to set the limits on Chinese goods under an agreement that cleared the way for Beijing’s membership in the World Trade Organization in 2001.
Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai on Thursday said the country would not impose more curbs on its textile exports to placate concerns in the United States and European Union.
“The globalization of the textile trade is a right we have gained since China joined the WTO and China will not impose curbs on its textile products,” he told a delegation of US businessmen, according to the ministry’s website. China has already raised taxes and lowered export rebates on textile products in a bid to slow growth.
BIG TEST: The clash between China versus the United States and the European Union over textiles and clothing trade is a first test of the Asian giant’s integration into the global economy, analysts in Geneva said on Thursday.
More than three years after China joined the World Trade Organization, the conflict is pitting the old economic powerhouses against an emerging economy that last year became the world’s third largest importer of goods behind the United States and Germany.
China can bring the cases to the WTO’s disputes settlement body if it feels unfairly treated, under the organization’s rules. However, only China accepted the possibility of special, streamlined safeguards on its textiles exports.
In the meantime, China might threaten to cancel major trade deals, Lehmann predicted. The tactic was used during a trade dispute between China and Japan over tatami mats and mushrooms.—APP/AFP