"The US decision goes against both the principle and orientation of the WTO agreement on textiles and garments, as well as the spirit of free trade that the WTO advocates," he continued.
"The Chinese Government reserves the right to take further action within the framework of the WTO," Lu warned.
Lu said that the import limits set by the US Government have had a huge impact on the textile industry in China.
"Chinese textile manufacturers are rushing to meet their export orders before the United States' borders are closed to them. Now, many quotas, such as those on cotton shirts, cotton trousers, underwear and polyester shirts, have been used up," Lu pointed out.
Last month, China and the EU reached a deal to avert a possible trade war over textile products. The deal has been hailed as a "win-win" situation and is considered to be a good example of how to resolve such disputes.
The Ministry of Finance issued a circular late last week, saying that as of next month the country will abolish the export tariffs on 17 categories of textile goods and garments limited by the EU on 20th of this month.
So far there are 51 categories of textile products that still have export tariffs imposed on them.
Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce indicate that at the end of June this year, China's textile exports hit US$50.35 billion, up by 21 per cent year-on-year.
Included in this figure is China's textile exports to the United States at US$8.34 billion, an increase of 76 per cent, while the country's exports to the European Union is US$8.65 billion, a rise of 57 per cent.
The Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT - China
marketing@alchempro.com
