China's textile industry will apparently be the beneficiary of the country's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), according to a government official reported by today's China Daily Business Weekly.

Yang Donghui, secretary-general of the China National Federation of Textile Industries said that China's textile industry will benefit from the WTO membership, especially in the long-run, because the country will then be able to enjoy stable multilateral preferential trade policies in a rules-based market.

Better access to the global market, which will surely come with the WTO membership, may help the industry upgrade its technology, management and trade system, he said. "but it presents the sector with more challenges than opportunities in the short term."

He warned companies of being too optimistic about China's textile exports prospects, saying that it will not make a rapid increase during the next few years, not even after quota limitations are lifted in 2005.

China's textile exports have been declining over the past few years. "It would be a big feat if we could maintain last year's export level, not to mention that it would be a large increase in the short run," he added.

Non-tariff trade barriers other than quota limitations will continue to hamper China's textile export progress even after China's entry into the WTO, and regionalization will also work against the interests of China's textile products, said Yang.