China and the United States have reached a tentative agreement on imports of Chinese clothing and fabric, the Washinigton Post reported Saturday.

The deal is expected to resolve a festering dispute between the two nations, the newspaper cited industry sources as saying.

The deal would begin on Jan. 1 and last through 2008 -- a concession by China, which wanted it to expire in 2007, a anonymous source was quoted as saying.

It would allow imports of most major textile and apparel products from China to increase by 8 to 10 percent in 2006, by 13 percent in 2007 and by 17 percent in 2008 -- a concession by the United States, which had proposed keeping annual growth close to 7.5 percent, according to the Post.

Although a few details remain to be resolved, the agreement is likely to be signed next week by U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman and Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai, the report said.

Source: China Daily