In what’s being seen as a compromise in the ongoing US/China trade war, the Beijing government has said it will raise penalties on violations of intellectual property rights.

Addressing IP theft by Chinese companies has been one of the sticking points in trade talks with the US.

The Chinese Government has also offered to look into lowering the thresholds for criminal punishments for those who steal IP.

The US wants China to commit to cracking down on IP theft and stop forcing American companies to hand over their commercial secrets as a condition of doing business there.

China said it’s aiming to reduce frequent IP violations by 2022 and plans to make it easier for victims of transgressions to receive compensation.