Luke Foddy, Communications Manager
A white paper published by China on Sunday, in which it set out its version of events in the recently-stalled trade talks, has attracted fierce criticism from the US.
According to the South China Morning Post, Beijing said in the white paper that the US “should bear the sole and entire responsibility” for the failure in striking a deal, adding that “the more the US government is offered, the more it wants.”
Washington hit back, accusing China of playing a “blame game,” and of backtracking in recent negotiations, the BBC reports.
A statement from the Office of the US Trade Representative said: “Our negotiating positions have been consistent throughout these talks, and China backpedalled on important elements of what the parties had agreed to.”
The exchange is indicative of the poor state of relations between the two economic powers, which are embroiled in a trade war and a high-profile dispute over Chinese telecoms giant Huawei.
Tech is increasingly emerging as a key theatre in the trade war and was also addressed in the white paper, which describes US allegations of IP theft as an “unfounded fabrication,” TechCrunch reports.
It added that China has made great efforts in recent years to protect and enforce IP rights.