China and the United States have reached a tentative agreement on imports of Chinese clothing and fabric, the Washinigton Post reported Saturday.

textiles trade(AFP" hspace=0 src="/images/404/404.jpg" align=baseline border=0> A shop assistant puts socks on mannequin feet in a store in Beijing in this undated file photo. [AFP]

The deal would begin on Jan. 1 and last through 2008 -- a concession by China, which wanted it to expire in 2007, a anonymous source was quoted as saying.

It would allow imports of most major textile and apparel products from China to increase by 8 to 10 percent in 2006, by 13 percent in 2007 and by 17 percent in 2008 -- a concession by the United States, which had proposed keeping annual growth close to 7.5 percent, according to the Post.

Although a few details remain to be resolved, the agreement is likely to be signed next week by U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman and Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai, the report said.