nation EU, although diplomats said that even France and Italy, which have taken the toughest line on Chinese imports, were likely to back it. "The alternatives are that Chinese imports keep coming in and disrupting the market, or that we take unilateral action which would give us narrower coverage for a shorter time and a nasty row with the Chinese," an EU official said in Brussels. Both Bo and Mandelson had talked tough in public before their talks, with the Chinese minister vowing to protect the rights of an industry that employs 19 million people and is a vital cog in China's export-driven economy. However, at the news conference Bo praised the British EU commissioner's "profound understanding" of Oriental culture and presented him symbolically with a gift of a blue-grey Chinese polo shirt. --More 2348 Local Time 2048 GMT
