The European Union (EU) said on Monday in Brussels that it hopes to reach a negotiated solution with China to textile disputes.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson is scheduled to hold talks with visiting Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng on Tuesday afternoon.

"The aim of the upcoming talks is to find a satisfactory solution acceptable to both sides," European Commission spokeswoman Francoise Le Bail told Xinhua.

Last Friday, China announced that it would raise export tariffs on 74 textile product categories as from June. The increases range as high as 400 percent.

Cautiously welcoming the latest move, Le Bail said the EU would carefully assess China's decision and would wait to see whether the export tariffs raise would curb the textiles exports effectively.

According to World Trade Organization rules, global textile quotas should be eliminated on Jan. 1, 2005. However, the 25- nation EU continued to press China to curb its exports, in a bid to protect the EU's textile industries.

Source: Xinhua