Sino-US textile talks stop at red light
By Jiang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-02 05:36

The unscheduled third day of textile talks between China and the United States failed to yield a long-expected agreement.

Chinese vendors wait for customers at a clothing market in Hefei, east China's Anhui province September 1, 2005. [newsphoto]

"The talks failed to reach an accord because substantial differences remain on some principle issues," China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement made after the extended fourth round of talks yesterday.

"But the two sides agreed to keep the consultation channel open and will fix the date and location for the next round," the statement said.

This round, which was scheduled for August 30 and 31, was restarted yesterday morning in the ministry.

The Special Textile Negotiator of the US Trade Representative Office David Spooner said the two sides "were not able to reach a broader agreement" despite strong efforts.

However, he said: "The United States remains optimistic that we can continue to make progress on the remaining issues. We will be consulting with the Chinese side over the next few days on the date and location of the next round of negotiations."

The talks, aiming to solve the two countries' four-month long textile disputes, began on Tuesday morning, with Vice-Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng as head of the Chinese delegation and Spooner as head of the US side.

This fourth round of textile talks between the two countries, which was headed by higher-level officials than the previous round in San Francisco last month, had been expected to enjoy great possibilities in terms of reaching an accord.

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