Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai, met with Italian Minister Scajola and his delegation in Xiamen on September 8, who came to participated in the 9th China International Investment Trade Fair. Minister Bo Xilai expressed welcome to Mr. Scajola and his delegation, and said that China-Italian economic and trade relations got closer day by day, but there was still a big room for expansion in view of economic strength of the two countries. China and Italian have plenty of small and medium enterprises, a

The Producers' Price Index (PPI) for manufactured goods increased by 5.3% in August as compared with the same month of last year, up by 0.1 percentage points as compared with last month; purchasing prices for raw materials, fuels, and power were up by 8.1%, dropped by 0.4 percentage points as compared with that in July.In August, the National Statistics Bureau says producers' prices for means of production were up by 7.3% over the same month of last year. Of which, prices for mining and quarryin

Millions of Chinese shirts, bras and trousers blocked at European customs warehouses because they exceeded import quotas will be released and in stores this week, the European Union said. "Member states will have the legal grounds to issue import licenses to these products on Wednesday," Francoise Le Bail, a European Commission spokeswoman, told reporters in Brussels on Monday. "That will allow these textile products to come onto the shelves in shops very quickly during the course of this week

Czech Republic Statistical Office presented the retails sales results for August 2005.The month-on-month development of consumer prices (index 100.0 percent) was influenced, like in the preceding years, by an increase in prices in ?ecreation and culture?where prices of stays abroad rose (+8.2 percent) due to the peak season. On the other hand, the drop in prices in ?ood and non-alcoholic beverages? which was primarily caused by decreases in prices of fruit (-9.0 percent), potatoes (-17.8 percent

DESPITE better growth prospects for all the sectors, skyrocketing oil prices are likely to caste a shadow on the Indian economy. The textile sector, in particular, may be affected by spiralling oil prices, as major fibre intermediates are derived from petroleum products such as naphtha, according to a report from YarnsandFibers, a market intelligence company. In the first eight months of 2005, crude oil prices rose 40-50 per cent and naphtha is now dearer by almost 25 per cent. This may set

EU hails end of China clothes logjam, but new clouds loom BRUSSELS: European retailers are looking forward to the end of a logjam of Chinese clothing imports this week but warn that a new "disaster" could already be looming, threatening further EU-China strains. The European Union hopes that by the middle of the week it can start releasing millions of bras, trousers and other cheap Chinese-made clothes blocked at European ports for weeks in a row over import quotas. EU trade chief Peter Ma

MANCHESTER, England: Britain's finance minister, Gordon Brown, has urged his European Union counterparts to push ahead with economic reform so the bloc can compete with the booming economies in Asia. "Asia will surpass Europe in the coming 20 years," Brown warned during two days of informal talks between the ministers in Manchester, northern England, which ended yesterday. "There is a temptation to believe that this is a race to the bottom. All the evidence I have is that these countries are

The Dutch inflation rate in August 2005 reached 1.8 percent, up 0.2 percent point on June and July. Then prices were 1.6 percent higher than the year before according to the consumer price index of Statistics Netherlands. The increase is mainly due to price developments in petrol, gas, electricity, potatoes, vegetables and flowers.The Dutch inflation rate according to the European harmonised method was 1.6 percent; 0.1 percent point higher than in July. Price rise of 0.4 percent in August In Aug

On September 7, 2005, Member States endorsed the outcome of the negotiations with China in Beijing on 4-5 September, as reflected in the Agreed Minutes of 5 September, and the Textiles Committee gave its positive opinion to a draft Commission Regulation destined to implement the Agreed Minutes and to unblock as a matter of urgency the goods shipped from 13 July in excess of the agreed levels set out in the 11 June Memorandum of Understanding (the MoU). The Commission is taking all necessary step

EU states backed a plan on Wednesday to free up blocked Chinese textile imports but Denmark slammed the deal as out of touch with modern trade, a sign of how deep divisions remain over Europe's response to Asian competition. Reuters reported. European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson -- who has been buffeted by the rival interests of Europe's textile producers and retailers -- praised the "solidarity" of member states and said he expected the goods would begin to be released next week. Tens of