Feb 25, 2005 (AXcess News) Beijing – Speaking in China, European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson warned that China must restrict its textile exports or risk destabilizing world trade with a flood of cheaper goods. .
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Mandelson was in China for the first time since becoming European trade commissioner. He told Chinese diplomats that many developing nations feared China would gain the majority of benefits from trade negotiations. That it was keeping many of them from entertaining a new round of trade talks..
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After the Doha round of talks were abandoned in December of 2003, China would need to make severe concessions if they expected the Doha trade discussions to be renewed, Mandelson said..
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While China imposed tariffs on textile exports in January, Mandelson said there has still been a growing concern by EU member countries over a surge in Chinese exports since global quotas expired.”The only way to lay these concerns to rest may be for you to contribute more”, said Mandelson. .
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Europe now stands as China largest trade partner, following two decades of bilateral trade growth that has been increasing at a rate of 20% per year. .
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While that exists it also has problems, Mandelson said. He told Chinese authorities that they needed to untie the Yuan from the dollar and move to a basket of currencies that included the Euro.
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“The Yuan needs to be revalued”, said Mandelson..
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Chinese officials pointedly asked Mandelson when the arms embargo would be lifted. The arms embargo had been put into place following the Tiananmin Square Massacre in 1989. He responded by saying, “trade concessions could help.”.
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“We in Europe are preparing to move forward to lift the arms embargo. But if and when we do, we shall find the step easier if we can point to clear evidence that China is taking account of our concerns in other areas of policy which will allow us to feel confident about our next move,” he said..
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Source: Axcessnews.com
Date:2/26/2005
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