China is hoping talks with the EU this week will help resolve a trade row that has left Chinese textiles piling up at European ports and threatens deliveries of fall and winter clothing, AP quoted state media reports as saying Wednesday. Shiploads of Chinese textile products have been stopped by EU Customs because they exceed limits recently imposed to help stem a surge in imports that followed the end of a worldwide quota system at the beginning of the year. EU negotiators were traveling to Beijing on Wednesday for talks on the trade dispute, which threatens deliveries to European stores for later in the year. «A major issue is to find a solution for Chinese textile products detained at EU ports,» the state-run newspaper China Daily on Wednesday quoted Lu Jianhua, director of foreign trade at the Commerce Ministry, as saying. The report said the talks would begin Thursday. The Commerce Ministry and the EU mission in Beijing wouldn't give any details. First, the two sides must agree on the amount of textiles and garments already blocked by EU Customs, Lu said. Shirts, bras and flax yarn have now joined sweaters, men's trousers and blouses in overrunning EU limits on import volume increases for 2005 that China agreed to in June. --mor 1323 Local Time 1023 GMT
