US-based Qualcomm abandoned on Thursday what would have been the world’s biggest ever semiconductor sector takeover after a deadline the companies set passed without the deal winning China’s approval.

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said in a statement on Friday that proposals put forth by the firms to resolve Chinese antitrust concerns were insufficient, but it hoped to continue communicating with Qualcomm.

All this comes too late for a resurrection of the deal. With the deal called off, the two companies have announced major share buybacks and Qualcomm has already paid NXP a $2 billion break fee.

The thought is that the SAMR statement is meant to counter perceptions the deal approval process was politicised, not to revive it. The US is currently engaged in a Trade War with China and the rejection of this deal is seen as a smack on the nose of Donald (Prince of Orange) Trump.

The Chinese regulator said on Friday that it was open to continuing negotiations over approving the deal. It added its current review period would expire on August 15, with an extended review deadline of Oct. 14.

“The results of our evaluation showed that Qualcomm’s latest plan could not resolve competition issues”, the regulator said, adding it had notified the chipmaker of this decision. “We hope to continue to communicate with Qualcomm and that we can find a suitable solution to resolve the issues within the review period.”