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takyon writes:

Anonymous sources say that the White House is readying sanctions against a handful of Chinese state-owned enterprises and other businesses that officials believe "benefited from the cybertheft of U.S. corporate secrets."

The White House hasn't decided definitively to impose the sanctions, but the process is far along and involves advanced planning from multiple federal agencies, the people said.

They said officials expect to target about five companies, though that number could change. If sanctions are ultimately imposed, it could impact the ability of those firms to access U.S. financial markets and trade with American companies, and could even hamper the ability of their executives to travel to the United States.

From The Washington Post :

The U.S. government has not yet decided whether to issue these sanctions, but a final call is expected soon — perhaps even within the next two weeks, according to several administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

[...] Any action would also come at a particularly sensitive moment between the world's two biggest economies. President Xi Jinping of China is due to arrive next month in Washington for his first state visit — complete with a 21-gun salute on the South Lawn of the White House and an elaborate State Dinner. There is already tension over a host of other issues, including maritime skirmishes in the South China Sea and China's efforts to devalue its currency in the face of its recent stock market plunge. At the same time, the two countries have deep trade ties and the administration has sometimes been wary of seeming too tough on China.

But the possibility of sanctions so close to Xi's visit indicates how frustrated U.S. officials have become over the persistent cyber plundering. The sanctions would mark the first use of an order signed by President Obama in April establishing the authority to freeze financial and property assets of, and bar commercial transactions with, individuals and entities overseas who engage in destructive attacks or commercial espionage in cyberspace.