Why Beijing isn’t playing blame game with its white paper on trade war
- Economist says ‘unreliable entities’ list is about strengthening Beijing’s hand
- State Council’s paper played to domestic and overseas audiences
China’s white paper on the trade war with the United States was not about playing a blame game with Washington, but preparing Beijing for a return to the negotiating table, Chinese analysts said.
In an unusual move, the State Council published the paper on Sunday to put China’s side of the dispute. Focus fell on the part where Beijing said that the US should bear responsibility for the breakdown in the months-long trade talks.
On Monday, the US repeated its claim that China had back-pedalled on the deal. The Office of the US Trade Representative and the US Treasury said Washington’s demand for detailed and enforceable commitments to trade reform and open markets “in no way constitutes a threat to Chinese sovereignty”.
“The United States is disappointed that the Chinese have chosen in the ‘white paper’ and in recent public statements to pursue a blame game misrepresenting the nature and history of trade negotiations between the two countries,” the agencies said.
Chinese analysts who talked to the South China Morning Post before the release of the US statement said Beijing was not allocating blame, it was telling the US it would not “give ground on matters of principle” but at the same time it was willing to commit to “credible suggestions”.