Anchors' Trade War Debate Fails To Spark With Fans

A much-hyped war of words between anchors from Fox Business and state broadcaster CGTN left mainland viewers disappointed as the trade debate Thursday ended without the anticipated fireworks following a social media feud.

With the US-China trade talks on hold, thousands of mainland viewers, media and even economists tuned in to watch CGTN host Liu Xin take on Fox Business Network presenter Trish Regan in the rare debate.

State media had drummed up interest in the showdown in recent days with articles and social media posts, and even the foreign ministry chipped in to encourage viewing.

The verbal spat erupted when Liu, host of "The Point", took offence to a description of China on the Trish Regan Primetime show, but while the anchors went after each other on Twitter, the on-air face-off was more diplomatic.

But mainland viewers were left angry when the "debate" turned more into civil interview between host Regan and her guest, with some baulking at the American talk-show style and bashing Regan for repeatedly cutting off Liu.

Regan had Liu backpedalling from the start, welcoming her on the show by claiming she spoke for the ruling Communist Party – a charge which Liu vehemently disputed.

"When you're debating with Americans, you can't be a polite woman following in their footsteps, when dealing with barbarians you must adopt a barbarian-like attitude, otherwise you'll suffer," wrote one viewer on Twitter-like Weibo.

Regan's interruptions climbed to the top of trending topics on the platform. (AFP)