Paris, March 10 - French food group Danone declined to comment on the state of talks with Wahaha after its estranged Chinese partner said on Sunday that talks to settle their dispute were deadlocked.
"We have promised with Mr Zong, the president of Wahaha, to make no public comments during the talks," a spokeswoman said on Monday. Wahaha Chairman Zong Qinghou told reporters on the sidelines of China's annual National People's Congress, or parliament, he could not accept Danone's demands for ending the feud.
The French company had accused Wahaha of setting up parallel and illegal operations alongside their venture that sells Wahaha branded products such as soft drinks and bottled water.
Zong said Danone has proposed their joint venture along with the businesses at the centre of the dispute be listed as one entity and that Wahaha guarantees the value of Danone's share of the listed firm will not fall below 50 billion yuan ($7 billion).
"How can anyone guarantee a share price?" said Zong. "It's up to the market. It doesn't make any sense."
Zong said he has proposed that Danone buy his share of the joint ventures or that it be bought by a third party, but that the French company has rejected those options.
In December, Danone and Wahaha agreed to cease all lawsuits in their highly public and acrimonious dispute and enter talks to resolve the dispute.
The two failed to resolve the issue and extended the talks for another month, a deadline that will expire at the end of March, said Zong.
The maker of LU cookies, Evian mineral water and Activia yoghurt has a 51 percent stake in a joint venture with Wahaha, named after the sound of a laughing child.