China on Sunday markedly stepped up its criticism of the US over its serious escalation of the trade war by issuing a scathing white paper, which blamed the US for the "severe setback" in the trade talks and reiterated that China is open to talks but will not back down on issues of principle.

At a press conference on the release of the white paper, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen also said that he has no information about any meeting between the Chinese and US presidents at the G20 summit in Japan later this month.

The white paper, released by the State Council Information Office, was aimed at pushing back on US accusations and spelling out China's stance on trade negotiations, namely that it is open to further talks, but they must be based on equality and mutual benefits.

In pushing back on US accusations that China had backtracked on its promises in the negotiations, the white paper stated that it was the US that backpedaled.

"The US government should bear the sole and entire responsibility for this severe setback to the China-US economic and trade consultations," the white paper stated, adding that "the US government accusation of Chinese backtracking is totally groundless."

The white paper further documented how the US has walked back its promises three times over the course of trade negotiations since early last year, with the latest being in May, when the US announced tariffs on Chinese goods after 11 rounds of talks.

The white paper said that both sides had agreed on most of the issues, "but the more the US government is offered, the more it wants," it said, pointing out that the US had resorted to intimidation and coercion, persisted with exorbitant demands and insisted on keeping tariffs on Chinese goods. 

The white paper, well supported by facts and evidence, is a timely response to the wide public speculation on trade talks, Tian Yun, vice president of the Beijing Economic Operation Association, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

"The public has had its different version of the impacts of the trade war and what is going on in the trade talks," Tian said. "The white paper can clear the misunderstanding in the speculation and has stated the open, sincere and cooperative attitude of the Chinese government."

US officials have continued to blame China for walking back its promises and increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, with more duties being planned. The US also intensified a global crackdown against Chinese telecom firm Huawei Technologies Co.

The white paper on Sunday blasted such moves as harmful to not just the US and Chinese economies but the global economy as a whole. "US trade bullying harms the world," it said, noting the moves disrupt global industrial and supply chains. In an apparent aim at US President Donald Trump's campaign pledge to "Make America Great Again," the white paper said, "the trade war has not 'made America great again.'"

Open to talks 

Apart from the harsh criticism, the white paper also reiterated that China is still committed to trade negotiations, but they must be "based on equality and mutual benefit" and China will not give ground on issues of principle.

Chinese officials have stated that for talks to continue, the US must demonstrate its sincerity in the talks and must correct its recent wrongful actions, including raising tariffs on Chinese goods and targeting the Chinese tech company.

"China has always held a sincere attitude toward trade negotiations from the very beginning," Song Guoyou, director of Fudan University's Center for Economic Diplomacy, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

However, the recent countermeasures from the Chinese side also indicate that the country will definitely not flinch over US pressure, according to Song.

The white paper followed a couple of moves by Chinese officials over the past few days that have been seen as China's countermeasures against the US. 

On Friday, the Ministry of Commerce announced that it would establish what is known as an "unreliable list" that could probe and punish foreign companies that harm Chinese firms' interests. The move resembles the US "entity list" that has been used to target Chinese companies like Huawei.

On Saturday, Chinese officials also announced that they would launch an investigation into US shipping giant FedEx after the US company diverted packages sent by Huawei to the US.

"China will not bow under pressure and will rise to any challenge coming its way," the white paper said. "China is open to negotiation, but will also fight to the end if needed."

Song said that if the US applies more pressure, China will certainly take tougher countermeasures to retaliate.

Zhang Hongpei and Yang Kunyi contributed to this report