China said on Wednesday that it hopes the second round of talks over the textile trade row with the United States could begin as soon as possible.

Zhao Hong, assistant representative of the Trade Negotiation Office under the Ministry of Commerce, said in an interview with the Xinhunet.com, China's largest news website, that the two sides had briefed each other on their preliminary stances on the clothing trade issue in the first round of technical talks which began last Friday.

The United States imposed limits on imports of seven categories of Chinese clothing in May, and demanded consultations with China,saying the imports surged in the first few months of the year after the quota regime ended worldwide from Jan. 1 this year.

"The two sides both have the intention to resolve the issue through cooperation," said Zhao. "We are working vigorously and hope the second round of talks can begin as soon as possible."

She said China hopes the textile disputes can be resolved through bilateral negotiations, but refused to rule out the possibility of seeking the intervention of the dispute settlement body of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

China joined the WTO in 2001 and has said it has the legitimate right to enjoy the benefits of a free global textile trade. But it has met with export limits from a number of WTO members including the United States and the European Union.

China and the EU reached a deal earlier this month to avert a possible trade war over textile goods and garments. The deal has been hailed as a "win-win" outcome and considered as a good example in resolving similar disputes.

China has stressed that the limit on China's textile goods and garments would harm the interests of not only Chinese businesses, but also consumers, dealers and importers in the United States.

Of the total profit generated from the trade of China's clothing, only 10 to 20 percent would go to Chinese textile firms while the remaining 80 percent would go to the US importers, dealers and wholesalers, according to the Chinese ministry figure.

Lu Jianhua, director of the foreign trade department of the ministry, told the website that US cotton producers may eventually suffer from the limit on imports of Chinese clothing.

China is now the largest buyer of US cotton, as the American cotton accounts for some 56 percent of China's total imports. Most of the imports are for the manufacturing of clothing.

"After the US set limits (on China's clothing), exports of Chinese textile firms will be reduced and this may result in less import of the US cotton," said Lu.

Source: Xinhua