Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday assured South African
President Thabo Mbeki that China is willing to restrict its textile
exports to South Africa.
The two governments also concluded a draft agreement on trade
between the two countries along with other agreements covering wide
range of fields.
The Chinese premier said at a press conference in Cape Town that
he and President Mbeki had reached "full understanding and
accommodation" on the issue.
"We both agree that the issues in the textile trade will in no
way compromise the overall economic relations and trade between the
two countries," he added.
Wen told reporters after talk with Mbeki that China would not
seek to take over the market share of other countries by simply
enlarging the scale of its textile production.
He pledged that China would continue to honor World Trade
Organization (WTO) rules, while doing its best to help affected
countries enhance their own capacity in textile production.
"We are willing to take self-restrictive steps and measures to
restrict China's export of textiles to South Africa in order to
ensure the stability of the textile market in this country," said
Wen.
The Chinese premier said that China will also render necessary
assistance and expertise to South African textile industry.
He added that Mbeki had made "very positive responses" and told
him the "issue is over."
(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2006)