China's Vice Premier Wu Yi (
Wu said Beijing was "resolutely" opposed to such politicizing of trade issues and called for a negotiated settlement.
The vice premier's comments in Hong Kong came amid US and EU concerns over a huge jump in Chinese garment exports following the end of a global textile quota system on Jan. 1.
Although the EU last week struck a deal with China to ease the surge, the US has slapped sanctions on certain types of imports from China.
Wu said this was unfair as China had imposed export duties on textile exports as well as other measures to stem the flood since the quota system ended.
"Recently the United States has limited some of China's textile exports. This impaired the rights and interests of Chinese enterprises who enjoy the fruits of textile trade integration," she told international delegates at an economic forum in Hong Kong.
Although trade friction was "natural," Wu said she was strongly opposed to making political capital from it.
"The key is how to handle these frictions. We are resolutely opposed to easily applying restrictions or sanctions, let alone politicizing economic and trade issues," she said.
Wu said the agreement signed last week between the EU and China showed such conflicts could be dealt with through dialogue, consultation and "mutual respect."
After a decades-old global quota system was abolished on Jan. 1, China imposed duties of between 2 percent and 4 percent on 148 types of textile goods to limit the impact on its global trading partners.
But they appear to have had little impact. China's textile exports jumped 29 percent overall in the first three months of the year, and pressure has been steadily building on Beijing to do more to stem the flood.
While Washington has already set limits on seven types of Chinese textile shipments, that dispute has also been fueled by concerns in the US that China's currency is undervalued, giving it an unfair advantage on the global market.
Although the European Commission had taken action only against T-shirts and flax yarn, it was seeking a blanket agreement covering other categories of textiles still being investigated.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique