There are no talks scheduled this weekend between China and the United States concerning textile exports, as some media reports have claimed, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in Beijing yesterday.

A spokesman for the ministry's information office said that China and the United States are in the process of consultations on the textile and garment trade issue, but the specific date for the second round of talks remains undecided.

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

Zhao Hong, an assistant representative of the Trade Negotiation Office under the Ministry of Commerce, said on Wednesday in an interview that the two parties 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 two sides both have the intention of resolving 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 a dispute settlement body within the World Trade Organization.

China joined the WTO in December 2001 and has said it has the legitimate right to enjoy the benefits of 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 good example for the resolution of similar disputes.

The effects of the textile dispute are being felt in other areas as well.

The Agricultural Bank of China, for instance, reported that the outstanding value of its loans to the textile industry in Shanghai decreased by more than 200 million yuan (US$24.1 million) to about 4.8 billion yuan at the end of May from a month earlier.

"The decline is attributed to the dispute between China and the European Union on China's exports of textile to the EU," said a bank official.

"Due to the uncertainties that surrounded the dispute before it was resolved, many local textile firms gave up plans to borrow money from banks."