China warns US to halt espionage or face retaliation ahead of Xi visit

China's Ministry of Commerce publicly demanded the US stop all espionage against Chinese firms, specifically targeting AI and chip sectors, and threatened retaliation. This escalates rhetoric just two weeks before Xi Jinping's Washington visit, signaling potential friction in upcoming talks. The warning follows a senior CIA official's defense of spying on China's tech sectors, marking a sharpening of the intelligence dimension of the US-China tech rivalry.