The U.S. on Tuesday accused China of continuing a state-backed campaign of intellectual property and technology theft even as the world's two largest economies have descended into a tit-for-tat tariff war.
The new accusations came in a detailed 53-page report released by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer's office just 10 days before President Donald Trump is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a Nov. 30-Dec. 1 Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires.
The timing of the report's release appeared to be a move by some of the more hawkish members of Trump's administration, such as Lighthizer, to bolster their case ahead of the summit and as other cabinet members such as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin push for a resumption of negotiations.