It was a "textbook example of the Chinese government's strategy to rob American companies of their intellectual property," John Demers, head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, said in a statement.

The government also charged Xiaoqing Zheng, 56, of Niskayuna, New York, and Zhaoxi Zhang, 47, of Liaoning Province, China with stealing GE's trade secrets including designs for gas and steam turbine technology.

Zheng, an engineer at GE Power & Water in Schenectady, New York, "exploited his access to GE's files by stealing multiple electronic files, including proprietary files involving design models," and emailing them to Zhang in China, according to the statement.

"We will not stand idly by while the world's second-largest economy engages in state-sponsored theft," Demers said.

The incident comes as US and Chinese officials say they are nearing the final chapter of negotiations on a new trade agreement, which Washington has said will place heavy emphasis on enforcement of rules, in particular intellectual property protections.

"The degree of unfair and unlawful trading practices engaged in by China for decades had to stop. It has to stop," White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Tuesday, before the charges were announced.

He said he is "cautiously optimistic" about a deal but stressed "it has to be enforceable."

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GENERAL ELECTRIC