Ever since negotiators from the United States and China sat down in Beijing after a Christmas meltdown in global markets, Donald Trump has sought to calm investors and claim his trade talks are making great strides. But that glosses over a more uncomfortable reality.

According to people close to the discussions, the two sides have so far made little progress on the issue that any deal Trump strikes with China may ultimately be judged on: ending what the U.S. has dubbed decades of state-coordinated Chinese theft of American intellectual property.

China's alleged IP theft and its related practice of forcing foreign companies to hand over technology to gain access to its market formed a large part of the agenda for the three days of talks in early January. Yet the discussions amounted more to an airing of grievances than constructive negotiations, according to participants and others briefed on the talks.