Barcelona have had an offer for Paulinho rejected by Guangzhou Evergrande, with the Chinese Super League club ruling out a sale.
Paulinho revealed Barca had made a bid for him last month, reportedly worth €20million, but the champions of China have been consistent in their desire to keep the Brazil midfielder.
"Paulinho, having already renewed his contract in January 2017, is an important player for our club's long-term project," Guangzhou said in a statement on Thursday.
"Therefore, our club have given a formal response to Barcelona that we reject their bid for Paulinho.
"We would like to express our gratitude to Barcelona who have reserved a high degree of admiration for our club as well as our player."
Barca's only signing so far ahead of the 2017-18 season has been Gerard Deulofeu, for whom they had a buy-back clause.
