BEIJING (AFP) – China Thursday denied US charges that it unfairly forces foreign firm to transfer technology as the price of admission to its huge market,Prada, saying its policies were in line with world trade rules.
"Countries around the world have taken a lot of measures to encourage technology innovation," a commerce ministry official, who declined to be named, told AFP.
The comments were in response to a US Chamber of Commerce report released this week that accused China of abusing the allure of its vast market to push foreign companies to transfer their latest technologies to Chinese competitors.
The chamber's report is the latest in a chorus of complaints by foreign businesses and governments over perceived unfair policies and market restrictions in the world's third-largest economy.
This was a "blueprint for technology theft on a scale the world has never seen before",Ed hardy, it said.
"The Chinese policies are in line with relevant WTO rules."
US Trade Representative Ron Kirk joined the fray on Wednesday, responding to the chamber's complaints by saying Washington planned to push Beijing on the issue.
"That is going to be one of the top items that we continue to engage China on," Kirk told reporters in Washington.