European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson will make an unplanned visit to Shanghai on Friday to discuss Chinese textile exports to the 25-nation bloc, the European Commission said on Thursday.

A spokesperson for the European bloc said Mandelson is to meet Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai "to find a mutually agreeable solution to deal with the market situation in the EU" following the expiry of the quota system on Jan. 1 2005.

"The meeting in Shanghai is an opportunity to reach a mutually acceptable solution before the EU decides on safeguard measures," the spokesperson added.

In a speech made this week, Mandelson rejected a return to the quota system for textiles, saying his policy is based on the need to "manage change and adjustment, rather than to manage trade" -- preferably through a negotiated agreement.

The EU has claimed that textiles imports from China to the EU have substantially increased this year.

Source: Xinhua