Chinese shoemakers have vowed to unite and act together after the European Union opened an anti-dumping probe into its work shoe exports.
"We have to stand up against the EU probe," said Chen Zemei, president of Saina Group in Ruian, Zhejiang Province. "All domestic shoemakers have a role to play here."
Chen said domestic companies should be united among themselves and with European importers as well. "We've got to be firm and well prepared in working out countermeasures and resolutely oppose any unfair practice from the European side, particularly manipulation of figures."
Chen's company, which reported 200 million yuan (US$24 million) of work shoe output and US$17 million of exports in 2004, is one of the biggest Chinese shoemakers threatened by the EU probe.
The european Commission, the EU's executive arm, opened a probe on Thursday into possible dumping of Chinese and Indian shoes in the 25-member bloc.
Claude veron-Reville, the commission's spokeswoman for trade, said that the probe began at the request of European manufacturers and could take as long as 15 months, but that the commission hoped to complete it in nine months.
Following the call by China Leather Association, shoemakers from the country's leading shoe manufacturing regions, including Zhejiang, Guangdong and Fujian provinces and Chongqing Municipality, gathered in Zhejiang this week to exchange ideas on how to face up the new situation and seek help from attorneys and international trade experts.
"We'll resort to World Trade Organization rules in order to protect our legitimate rights and avoid heavy tariffs in the post-quota world," said Chen.
Ministry of Commerce spokesman Chong Quan said earlier that the Chinese side "strongly opposes" EU's launching of anti-dumping investigation, which is being done without a practical or legal basis.
"China urges the EU to proceed from facts, make prudent decisions and avoid trade frictions," he said.
The eu has produced figures showing imports of Chinese-made shoes surged in the beginning of the year after the end of a global textile quota system on January 1.
Relevant eu statistics showed a rise on average of 700 percent in import volumes and a 28 percent drop in prices for six categories of leather and fabric shoes.
According to Chinese custom figures, however, the quantity of exported leather shoes and slippers to the EU rose only 22.8 percent in the first quarter of this year, while the price of the products climbed 28 percent.
China has lodged representation with the EU on serious errors related to the methods of sampling and statistics calculations, and it asks the EU side to check the data accurately, and publicizes the true situation regarding China's shoe exports.