China Paper Says U.S. ‘Fabricated’ Forced Tech Transfer Claims

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. “purely fabricated” accusations that Chinese authorities had been forcing foreign companies to transfer technology, according the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party, saying it was an old argument to suppress the country’s development.

The U.S. hasn’t been able to provide examples of cases where overseas companies had to do so despite repeated requests by China for evidence, according to a commentary published Saturday in the People’s Daily newspaper.

“A lie repeated a thousand times still is a lie,” according to the op-ed. “Maybe what’s really pricking the nerves of the Americans are China’s rapid-developing innovation capabilities and technological achievements.”

China has long denied it makes it compulsory for overseas companies to transfer their technology in return for market access, reinforced by a new foreign investment law passed earlier this year that banned forced tech exchanges.

China’s state media has stepped up its rhetoric since U.S. President Donald Trump moved to implement billions of dollars of new tariffs on Chinese goods earlier this month, and curtailed access for Huawei Technologies Co. to American technology.

The Trump administration on Friday blacklisted China’s largest tech company -- which it accuses of aiding Beijing in espionage -- threatening to cut off the American software and semiconductors it needs to make smartphones and networking gear. That U.S. maneuver coincides with sensitive trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Gao Yuan in Beijing at ygao199@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Beth Thomas

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With assistance from Bloomberg