Mr. Gao Hu cheng, China’s Vice Minister of Commerce, will meet with European trade chief Peter Mandelson in Brussels before a vote is held by EU members, scheduled for January 24, to decide whether to increase the duties imposed on Chinese footwear.

Gao Hu Cheng is set to highlight the fact that increased duties on Chinese footwear will damage rather than protect shoe companies in Europe as well as retailers, importers and consumers and he is not alone in his opinion. International brands such as Nike and Adidas have argued against any increase in duties as nearly half of all sports shoes produced are now manufactured in China.

According to Chinese customs statistics, China’s footwear exports to Europe increased greatly in 2005, rising to 805 million pairs valued at $2.6 billion in the first 10 months alone compared with 810 million pairs worth $2.18 billion for the full 12-months of 2004.

Despite the disputes over footwear imports, bilateral business between China and EU is continuing to grow and the EU has now become the largest business partner of China. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce recently estimated that the volume of bilateral business in 2005 exceeded $200 billion for the first time.