An official with the China Leather Association said the attempt by the European footwear makers to launch safeguard measures against China cannot be justified.

Wei Yafei, spokeswoman with the association, was quoted by Thursday's China Daily as saying that China's exports have not imposed a severe impact on the shoe market of European countries as the European companies claimed.

China's footwear exports to the EU was 257 million pairs in the first three months this year, up 2.8 percent year-on-year, while the total value hit 726 million US dollars, up 30.8 percent from the previous year, according to China's General Administration of Customs.

Footwear manufacturers association of Italy, Spain and Portugalare reported to have filed applications to the EU to curb footwear imports from China. They claimed that imports from China had flooded their markets and hurt their domestic industries.

However, the European Commission is not predicted to take an immediate measure against Chinese footwear.

The Chinese government and the industrial associations have taken measures to watch the footwear exports and strengthen self-regulation among the sector. The ministry of Commerce has also putshoe export under close supervision, said the newspaper.

Similar to Chinese textile industry, the country's shoemakers have been amid tensions of trade conflicts with trade partners since last fall just before all quotas on footwear trade were to be eliminated.

At present, China produces more than 6 billion pairs of shoes annually at over 7,000 shoemaking companies.

Source: Xinhua