US, China begin new textile talks

In a two-day meeting that began yesterday, US and Chinese negotiators sought to seal a deal to control China's surging textile shipment to the US so that Washington no longer has to enforce "cumbersome" quotas, Agence France Presse reported, quoting a US Trade Representative's office spokeswoman. But American trade groups remained pessimistic that such pacts can be inked after blaming Chinese "intransigence" for the failure of the last round of talks in Beijing at the start of the month. US textile groups have filed a barrage of petitions with Washington demanding new safeguards to slow the tide of Chinese garment exports and most have been favorably received by the authorities. China and the US made no official comment after Monday's talks.