Li Weiyi made the comment at a press conference in response to Taiwanese allegations that problems stem from the mainland government's insistence that political preconditions be met before bilateral trade issues can be tackled.
"The assertion of the authorities on Taiwan totally turns things upside down," Li said.
"The Taiwan authority's discriminative trade policy, not the one-China policy of the Chinese mainland, is the major reason preventing the cross-strait trade normalization," the spokesman added.
Li claimed that up to September 2004, the mainland had accumulated a trade deficit of more than $261 billion dollars because of intentional, restrictive measures by the Taiwanese.
Taiwan authorities have placed many restrictions on products and services from the Chinese mainland, which seriously block trade normalization, Li noted.
Communist China considers Taiwan a renegade province and refuses to use the word "government" in describing the policies adopted by the island.
Copyright 2004 by United Press International
