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China Won't Concede to U.S. on Digital Trade Curbs, FT Reports

China Won't Concede to U.S. on Digital Trade Curbs, FT Reports

(Bloomberg) -- China is refusing to concede to U.S. demands that it ease curbs on digital trade, the Financial Times reported, citing three people briefed on the talks.

China has yet to offer significant concessions on U.S. requests that it end discrimination against foreign cloud computing providers, curb requirements for companies to store data locally, and loosen limits on the transfer of data overseas, according to the report.

An initial offer by China on digital trade was judged to be inadequate by the U.S. administration, the FT cited one person familiar with the talks as saying. China retracted the offer after the U.S. asked for more concrete pledges, the report said.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer’s office and a White House spokesperson declined to comment to the FT. President Donald Trump said Friday that a trade deal with China is close, but U.S. officials downplayed the prospect of a swift conclusion.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jim Jia in Sydney at jjia1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Margo Towie, Andrew Davis

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