Sino/US relations set to erupt; Trump administration to condemn China over hacking and economic espionage - WP

The Washington Post has run a story titled" Trump administration to condemn China over hacking and economic espionage, escalating tensions between superpowers", and this coincided with a pullback in US stocks in midday trade and contrasts with the European and early North American trade's optimism over Sino/US trade relations. 

Officials from Washington and Beijing had reportedly been kicking-off trade talks once again via a phone call between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, according to The Wall Street Journal. Bloomberg was also reporting towards noon in the European day that China was moving to reduce the tariffs which it had recently levied on imports of cars. President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that the U.S. was engaged in “very productive conversations” with China. 

Sino/US relations set to erupt

However, The Washington post has reported that the Trump administration is preparing a series of actions this week to call out Beijing for what it says is China’s continued efforts to steal America’s trade secrets and advanced technologies and compromise sensitive government and corporate computers, according to U.S. officials.

"Multiple government agencies are expected to condemn China, citing a documented campaign of economic espionage and the alleged violation of a landmark 2015 pact to refrain from hacking for commercial gain.

In perhaps the most significant move, the Justice Department is expected to announce the indictments of multiple hackers suspected of working for a Chinese intelligence service and participating in a long-running espionage campaign that targeted U.S. networks.

Along with that, the administration is planning to declassify intelligence relating to the breaches, which date to 2014, and to sanction some of those believed responsible, according to people familiar with the plans."