"The talks failed to reach an accord because substantial
differences remain on some principle issues," China's Ministry of
Commerce said in a statement made after the extended fourth round of
talks yesterday.

"But the two sides agreed to keep the consultation channel open
and will fix the date and location for the next round," the
statement said.

This round, which was scheduled for August 30 and 31, was restarted
yesterday morning in the ministry.

The Special Textile Negotiator of the US Trade Representative Office
David Spooner said the two sides "were not able to reach a broader
agreement" despite strong efforts.

However, he said: "The United States remains optimistic that we
can continue to make progress on the remaining issues. We will be
consulting with the Chinese side over the next few days on the date and
location of the next round of negotiations."

The talks, aiming to solve the two countries' four-month long textile
disputes, began on Tuesday morning, with Vice-Commerce Minister Gao
Hucheng as head of the Chinese delegation and Spooner as head of the US
side.

This fourth round of textile talks between the two countries, which
was headed by higher-level officials than the previous round in San
Francisco last month, had been expected to enjoy great possibilities in
terms of reaching an accord.

Song Hong, an analyst with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,
said that the breakdown indicated that the two sides still stood far
apart in some substantial issues.

Meanwhile, the US Government announced yesterday that it was
re-imposing quotas on two more categories of Chinese clothing and
textile imports, Xinhua reported.

It said that the US would limit imports of fabric made with synthetic
filament threads and also bras and other body-supporting undergarments.

The US Government also announced it was extending until October 1 a
deadline for making decisions in four other cases covering sweaters,
dressing gowns, knit fabric and wool trousers.

"Today's announcement demonstrates this administration's
commitment to levelling the playing field for US industries by enforcing
our trade agreements," said Commerce Deputy Assistant Secretary Jim
Leonard. August 31 is the deadline for the US Government to decide on
whether to impose new safeguard measures on additional textile imports
from China.

"The US restrictions, like a double-edged
sword（双刃剑）, hurt the interests of not only Chinese
manufacturers but also US customers," said Zhou Shijian from the
China Association of International Trade.

Before the US-China talks, consultations between China and the
European Union started on August 25 also failed to produce a mutually
accepted amendment to the agreement signed by trade chiefs of both sides
in Shanghai.