Analysis | Technology leaders say ‘no comment’ on US-China relations amid trade war fears

US-China relations have quickly become the last thing many business leaders on both sides are willing to discuss publicly, following US president Barack Obama's sharp criticism of Beijing's new rules regarding American tech firms. 

Obama’s criticism of Beijing’s plan to require technology companies to hand over encryption keys and install security "backdoors" in their systems to give Chinese authorities surveillance access comes soon after it was announced Chinese President Xi Jinping will make his first planned state visit to the United States.

"This is something I've raised directly with President Xi," Obama said in an interview with Reuters earlier this week. "We have made it very clear this is something they are going to have to change if they are to do business with [us]."

On the record, big technology companies from both the US and China including Microsoft and China’s Huawei and ZTE have all declined to comment on Obama’s vociferous and rapid reaction to Beijing’s efforts to strengthen its control of cyber security – a key part of China’s new counterterrorism laws.

Privately, industry executives are increasingly worried that worsening US-China relations could damage business, particularly in the tech sphere. Some feared that the spat could signal a coming technology trade war between the two countries.