China's textile exports will on the whole remain stable in 2006, though regional trade disputes will continue, said an industry official.

While addressing the 87th China knit and cotton textiles fair held in Shanghai on Thursday, Cao Xinyu, vice-chairman of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles, said the market environment will be stable after China reaches agreements over textile trade with Europe and the United States.

"China's exports to Europe and the United States are expected to keep increasing at around 15 percent, but exports to Japan will only grow at 5percent or so," said Cao.

In the meantime, the Chinese mainland's shipments to Hong Kong will stop falling and keep rising because a growing number of companies resort to expanding entrepot trade via Hong Kong due to restrictions resumed on export of certain kinds of commodities.

Emerging markets, such as in east Europe, will become new points of growth for China's textile exports this year. For instance, the country's exports of textiles to Russia have been over 30 percent in the past five years.

New trade disputes such as anti-dumping will keep emerging this year, said Cao.

China exported US$115 billion of textiles and garments last year. The country's exported textiles and garments totaled US$10.18 billion in January, up 23 percent from January 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2006)