China and the United States hold a new round of textile talks but the Chinese industry is pessimistic that progress can be made, blaming the U.S. Government's insincerity for the stalemate.
The two-day talks in
Beijing on Wednesday are aimed at forging an agreement to regulate Chinese textile exports, which have soared since global quotas were scrapped Jan. 1.
The last round of negotiations ended without agreement in Washington last month.
Sun Huaibin, spokesman for China National Textile Apparel Council, said he was not hopeful that a resolution could be reached, given what he said was the U.S. Government's hard-line stance.
Last week, the U.S. Government accepted a U.S. industry request to consider quotas on another 13 types of Chinese textile exports, bringing the number that could be restricted to 27. The move irked China, which voiced "firm opposition."
The U.S. inter-agency Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) said it would rule in January on whether quotas are needed against the 13 categories because of "market disruption."
"I don't think that's a good omen," said Sun. "That signifies a hardline stance that they want to impose more limits on China."
Sun said the resolution of the textile dispute between China and the European Union in June should be a model for solving the Sino-U.S. dispute.
China and the EU eased tensions when they agreed to limit the growth of 10 Chinese textile exports to the EU to 8.5-12.5 percent until the end of 2007.
"It should have been an example for the Sino-U.S. talks but why didn't it happen?k It's because the US is taking too harsh a line. It is their responsibility and they lack sincerity," Sun said.
The U.S. textile industry wants a deal signed that limits Chinese imports in more than 19 categories of apparel to a 7.5 percent growth rate per year until 2008, according to the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition.
China wants to reduce the number of restricted items and wants the limits to be lifted at the end of 2007.
China's Ministry of Commerce says the move to restrict imports violates World Trade Organization rules and has demanded the United States review the issue from the perspective of overall bilateral interests in a "prudent and considerate manner."
Zhou Yonghong, manager of the
Jinan Knitting Import and Export Co. in east China's Shandong province, said the impasse had already hit Chinese exporters because they cannot plan next year's orders or productions.
"We have no choice, we can only look to developing other markets," she said.
