China was "shocked by, and strongly opposes" the Turkish restriction on imports of 42 kinds of Chinese textile products, said Chong Quan, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing on December 26.

Turkey decided to take safeguard measures against imports of certain Chinese products on Dec. 23, saying they disturbed the market.

Chong condemned the decision, saying that it was against the principle of free trade, damaging to multilateral trade mechanism and a violation of agreements signed when China entered the World Trade Organization in 2001.

"China opposes any country or region misunderstanding or abusing WTO rules and taking special safeguard measures against Chinese textile products and garments, which is a trade protectionism," Chong said, urging Turkey to repeal the decision and solve the problem through dialogue with China.

China retains the right to take further action within the framework of the World Trade Organization, Chong said.

Source: Xinhua