Chinese trade negotiators have largely given up hope of reaching a EU-type agreement with the US on resolving a simmering row over textile quotas, state press said yesterday.
A second round of technical talks on China's booming textile exports were to be held yesterday in Beijing, the final round before a major bilateral trade meeting next week, the Oriental Morning Post reported.
"There is little likelihood for a lot of progress [on textiles] coming out of this round of Sino-US consultations; most of the discussions will be aimed at preparing for the Sino-US Joint Committee on Commerce and Trade (JCCT)," the paper quoted Commerce Ministry officials as saying.
US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, US Trade Representative Rob Portman and US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns will hold discussions in Beijing with Vice Premier Wu Yi (吳儀) and Trade Minister Bo Xilai (薄熙來) at the annual JCCT on Monday.
US officials in Beijing said a series of trade agreements were likely to be signed during the visit but doubted that a specific bilateral agreement on the textile row would be inked.
China and the EU headed off a trade war early last month when they agreed to limit the annual growth of 10 Chinese textile product exports to the EU to between 8.5 and 12.5 percent until the end of 2007. Both sides hailed the agreement as a victory for free trade, with Beijing urging the US to seek a similar pact and forgo unilateral moves, albeit under WTO rules, that will cap the growth of specified imports at 7.5 percent annually until 2007.
The US has placed restrictions on seven Chinese textile products after they rose dramatically into the US following the ending of a global textile tariff system on Jan. 1.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
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