China pledges to promote common development after textile quotas removed

China pledged to address the concerns of other developing countries, especially underdeveloped countries, for the common development of textile trade after the textile quotas was removed next year, Chinese Minister of CommerceBo Xilai said Tuesday.

According to the Agreement of Textile and Clothing signed in 1994 during the Uruguay Round, WTO members will replace quotas on textile and clothing trade with tariffs starting Jan. 1 2005.

When meeting with Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Supachai Panitchpakdi, Bo said that China's textile exports may increase to a certain degree, but not as much as some organizations or individuals have predicted.

China will continue to adopt measures for seeking common development, he stressed.

Bo also expressed China's expectation for the early recognitionof its full market economy status, noting that more and more countries have considered it unfair to deny the full market economy status of China because China has improved its market economy system since its entry into the WTO three years ago.

China hopes the WTO Secretariat will promote the early solutionto this problem, Bo said.

Supachai appreciated China's efforts to promote common development of the textile industries along with other developing countries, underdeveloped countries in particular. China's attitude on the issue is "open" and "constructive," he said.

The WTO will promote the free trade of textiles and resolve problems through multilateral consultations on equal footing, saidSupachai.

He also briefed Bo about WTO's agenda in 2005 and hoped the sixth WTO ministerial meeting to be held in China's Hong Kong could lay a solid foundation for the conclusion of the negotiations on Doha Development Agenda.

Source: Xinhua