Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai highlighted China's commitment to promoting current multilateral trade system in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province on July 11.

During his meeting with European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, Bo said that China is always holding a "responsible attitude" to the world trade system.

Bo met Mandelson a day before the informal ministerial meeting is kicked off in Dalian. The two-day meeting will take stock of the Doha Development Agenda negotiations and discuss the progress of the "First Approximations" of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, the key signpost in the lead-up to the WTO Sixth Ministerial Conference to be held in Hong Kong in December.

"To host the informal ministerial meeting in Dalian shows China's commitment to joining hands of other World Trade Organization (WTO) members for pushing forward the multilateral trade system", Bo said in response to reporters' questions after his meeting with Mandelson.

Bo said that the two sides also talked about the Doha Development Agenda, the China-EU textile trade agreement, EU's recognition of China's market economy status as well as some trade disputes like the shoe issue.

"The meeting has proceeded in a very candid air and I felt it very productive", Bo said, noting that China and the EU share many common interests in establishing win-win cooperation in trade.

China and the EU reached a deal in the wee hours on June 11 to settle the dispute in textile trade. Bo defined the agreement as an endeavor to "provide a sound development environment for Chinese textile enterprises as well as allow the European manufacturers a grace period to smoothly adapt themselves to the Chinese textile imports."

Source: Xinhua