China says bilateral trade ties hurt by US textile row

China warned the United States bilateral trade will be hurt if import quotas are slapped on textile products, as the US Federal Reserve chief cautioned against "creeping protectionism".

US Ambassador Clark Randt was called in by Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Ma Xiuhong for an emergency meeting Thursday, a day after he was hauled in by Vice Foreign Minister Zhou Wenzhong, the Xinhua news agency said.

Simmering tensions between the trading giants flared this week when Washington, under pressure to protect US jobs in sensitive industries ahead of a presidential election campaign, said it would cap imports of Chinese bras, knit fabrics and dressing gowns.

Ma told Randt the US decision would negatively impact China-US trade and harm the United States'' domestic interests.
She said China "hopes the US will fully recognize the negative impact on normal trade between the two countries caused by abusing safeguard measures on fabric products", and urged Washington to withdraw "its wrong decision".

As the row rumbled on, US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan called for action to counter "creeping protectionism" in the United States and elsewhere that threaten the global economy.