China said yesterday it "strongly objected" to new measures taken by the EU against imports of Chinese textiles, calling the move a potential blow to the global clothing trade.
"This departs from the spirit of free trade proposed by Europe and seriously violates the basic principles of the World Trade Organization," commerce ministry spokesman Chong Quan (崇泉) said in a statement on the ministry's Web site.
The Chinese response came a day after the EU unveiled "alert levels" for growth rates in Chinese clothing imports which will trigger investigations and informal consultations with China.
"This will have a negative impact not just on Sino-European textile trade, but on global textile trade as a whole," Chong said in the statement.
Chong said that China and the EU each have "complementary strengths" in the textile field, and that "common interests do exist" in the industry.
"Any action that prevents the integration of the textile industry will cause damage to the common interests of China and the EU," he said.
The EU action, and other parallel actions by the US, reflect a world coming to terms with the end on Jan. 1 of a 31-year-old international textile import quota system.
According to the measures unveiled by the EU Wednesday, the "alert levels" range from 10 to 100 percent growth over last year's trade volume, depending on the type of product.
The system of "alert levels" means the EU, which is trying to build up strong commercial relations with China, is not going as far and as fast down the road to safeguards as a US investigation into Chinese textiles.
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