As Sino-US talks on Beijing's entry to the World Trade Organisation dragged into their fifth day yesterday, the press blamed excessive demands by Washington and the politicisation of the issue by the US Congress as the stumbling blocks.
While neither side is giving details of the obstacles to a deal, a few of the more outspoken newspapers offered explanations why 13 years of talks have failed to find a solution.
'After his victory at Austerlitz, Napoleon said that the key to victory was to hold on to the very last minute. But, if both side use this strategy in the talks, no one will win,' said the China Economic Times in a front-page commentary.
'Negotiations over 13 years have taught us that it is impossible to enter the WTO just by satisfying the demands of one side.
'If both sides give a little, then there could be a big step forward. We hope that the two will take such a big step together,' it said.
The publication argued that US President Bill Clinton had come a long way since refusing a WTO offer presented to him by Prime Minister Zhu Rongji on April 8 this year.
Mr Clinton made two demands Mr Zhu could not accept: that import quotas on Chinese textiles be extended to 2010, five years longer than for other developing countries; and that China enter WTO as a non-market economy, making its exports an easy target for anti-dumping suits.
