China and South Africa had concluded a draft agreement to restrict Chinese textile exports to South Africa to protect local producers, the Chinese Government said Tuesday.

The agreement had been circulated by South Africa¡¯s department of trade and industry to its textile industry for comment, said Zhou Yabin, the director-general for west Asia and Africa in the Ministry of Commerce.

In a briefing for African journalists, Zhou declined to elaborate on the agreement, saying it was complex and still private until it has been finalized.

He added that China fully understood the concerns of Africa and other regions about the strong competition from Chinese textile imports and was addressing these concerns in several ways.

One was to encourage its textile enterprises to reduce their investments and production in China.

Another was to encourage them to focus more on high-quality textiles and clothing as this would reduce direct competition with African producers of lower-quality goods.

Although the government could not tell these enterprises where and how to invest, it could ¡°guide them¡± by making loans to them conditional. China was also ready to invest more textile enterprises in African countries if they increased their incentives.