China and the United States failed to reach any agreement on textile negotiations which ended Thursday in Beijing as "the differences remained in some principled issues", according to China's Ministry of Commerce.

The fourth round of textile negotiations was held here from Aug.30 to Sept. 1.

"During the talks, both sides sought resolutions to the textile disputes with a positive attitude and flexibility," said the Ministry of Commerce in a press release issued after the conclusion of the negotiations.

But no agreement was reached as the two sides failed to eliminate the differences in some principled issues, according to the press release.

The ministry said that both sides agreed to maintain consultation and will set the date and location of the next round of negotiations by diplomatic channels as early as possible.

David Spooner, special negotiator for textile at the US Trade Representative's office, was quoted by a statement of the US Embassy to China as saying that the United States remains "optimistic" that they can continue to make progress on the remaining issues.

"We will be consulting with the Chinese over the next few days on the date and location of the next round."

The talks, aiming to solve the four-month long textile disputes between the two countries, began Tuesday morning with Vice Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng as head of the Chinese delegation and David Spooner as head of the US side.

Source: Xinhua