Lynn Chen/Shanghai Daily news

The European Union will soon start anti-dumping investigations into two types of Chinese safety footwear in what industry officials fear will be a prelude to a large scale trade war against Chinese shoe exports.
The case could affect several hundred small and medium-sized shoemakers in Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, which mainly supply made-to-order safety shoes to the European market, said the China Leather Industry Association.
"The Ministry of Commerce has yet to be informed of the investigation, but the association can confirm EU will start the probes on the two types of shoes soon based on the information we got," said Wei Yafei, director of the shoemaking office under the leather industry association.
Wei admitted exports of the two varieties of shoes - textile and leather safety footwear - to the EU market grew rapidly in the past year due to bullish market demand.
Exports of textile safety shoes to the EU soared 368 percent last year to 45,000 pairs from 2003, according to the association. Shipments of leather safety shoes bound for the EU rose 63 percent year-on-year to 6.04 million pairs in the same period.
The value of exports was not huge against China's total foreign trade, with the textile category hitting US$390,000 last year and the leather category US$52 million, the association said.
"Although the value was not very high and the EU needs one to one-and-a-half years to probe into the case, we are encouraging companies involved to actively respond to the case to protect their interests," Wei said.
"We fear it could be a prelude to more cases against Chinese shoe exports in the future," she added.
Prices of such safety footwear range from US$8 to US$9 a pair, which are not low, but very competitive compared with those made in Europe, she said.
The Ministry of Commerce has warned domestic shoemakers of pending anti-dumping cases from Western countries for the third time.
Commerce Minister Bo Xilai said the shoe issue will be the next trade dispute between China and Western countries after textiles. Chinese shoe exports were closely watched by Western countries after the quotas on seven types of shoes were eliminated on January 1.
"The EU could be using these two types of shoes to test the Chinese side's response, preparing for further challenges," said Lu Sheng, a researcher working with Shanghai WTO Affairs Consultation Center.