Demands by the United States that China address the problem are central to the two countries’ ongoing trade war, which has seen both sides pile tariffs on billions of dollars of each other's goods. Either way, it is unacceptable that this practice continues in a market as mature and innovative as China," Roule said. In certain "cutting edge" industries the incidence of reported transfers was higher, such as 30% in chemicals and petroleum, 28% in medical devices, and 27% in pharmaceuticals, she added. Amid the escalating US-China trade war, Beijing has put pressure on the EU to stand with it against US President Donald Trump’s trade policies, though the world’s largest trade bloc has largely rebuffed those efforts. Forty-nine percent of the respondents affected by US tariffs said their companies had covered the cost themselves and kept prices the same.

Source: The Star May 21, 2019 09:00 UTC