Originally, the company was to lease 200,000 sf, the top five floors of the 52-story building, for 15 years. According to a Larry Silverstein release, Monday was "the fourth time they missed an agreed deadline to post security." Further more, Silverstein delivered a letter to Vantone's New York rep saying, "After all of these missed deadlines, we no longer have confidence in your ability to fulfill the terms of the proposed lease transaction."

In a statement released this afternoon, Xue Ya, executive director of the China Center, said, "Silverstein Properties unilaterally imposed deadlines to which we never agreed. We jointly signed a lease on June 30, subject only to a letter of credit. Our bank in China has had only one week to review the lease and we anticipate they will issue the letter of credit promptly. ... We hope that the negative publicity generated by Silverstein today will not interfere with our abilities to secure our financing."

A representative of CB Richard Ellis contacted by GlobeSt.com could not comment on the situation under orders of Silverstein. Industry sources put the building's price between $50-$60 per sf.

Silverstein and Vantone chairman Feng Lun originally announced a preliminary non-binding agreement to create the China Center inbuilding, hoping it would be the centerpiece for Chinese firms looking to set up business hubs in New York.