USTR, Treasury defend Trump strategy on trade row with China

China's "unfair trade practices" have cost the US hundreds of billions of dollars, the US Trade Representative and Treasury Department said in a statement rebuking Beijing for the stalemate in negotiations between the two biggest economies.

The statement, seen Tuesday on the USTR's website, did not include any new actions against China. But it said the United States was "disappointed" by a report Beijing issued over the weekend defending China's stance and accusing US officials of backsliding in the talks.

It said Beijing was pursuing "a blame game misrepresenting the nature and history of trade negotiations." "It is important to note that the impetus for the discussions was China's long history of unfair trade practices," the statement said.

Such actions have "caused severe harm to American workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses." The two sides are in a stalemate after 11 rounds of talks over trade and technology issues that have led to both sides raising tariffs on hundreds of billions of each other's goods, among other retaliatory measures.

President Donald Trump has said he expects to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at a meeting of the Group of 20 leading economies planned for Osaka, Japan, in late June.

But with no sign of a fresh round of talks, the two governments are trading blame and maneuvering to drum up domestic support for what is turning out to be a bruising trade war for farmers and manufacturers on both sides.

On Tuesday, the 30th anniversary of the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, a commentary in the Chinese newspaper Global Times praised the ruling Communist Party's decisions at such critical moments as crucial for creating the country's "growth miracle."