The European Union has decided to steer clear of a politically-sensitive trade challenge against China over surging textiles imports, an industry group said on Monday as Prime Minister Wen Jiabao visited the bloc.

Wen's visit, starting in Germany and including EU headquarters in Brussels later this week, will have trade as a key focus. His country last year became the EU's second-largest commerce partner, taking Japan's place.

A Belgian group had been seeking to invoke special protection measures against China that would have limited imports of various kinds of textiles. It would have been similar to US import limits imposed lastyear, which angered Beijing.

But Belgian industry group AIUFFASS said it had converted its safeguard request into one for a more traditional measure, antidumping duties, as it had been persuaded by the European Commission any other move would get little support by EU states.

The United States in November 2003 limited imports of bras, dressing gowns and knit fabrics from China under the safeguard clause of China's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

European textiles groups wanted the Commission, which looks after trade matters for EU states, to follow suit as they complained of huge rises in Chinese exports to the EU.

The Commission move to accept AIUFFASS' request only as an antidumping complaint steers the EU clear of difficult waters.

"A safeguard is the last resort," said one EU diplomat. "It is saying that domestic industry is suffering, even though the imports are legal. It is much more difficult to make stick."

On the other hand, anti-dumping steps, usually involving duties to penalise the product by making it dearer, was much the easier instrument for the Commission to deal with.

It already has a range of antidumping duties on China, from chemicals to bicycle parts. Such penalties are imposed when the Commission finds the goods are being sold at a price below the cost of production and which is hurting an EU industry.

The AIUFFASS request for protection had focused on synthetic fabrics for garments like ski suits.