China's IP system was improving even before the trade war.

President Donald Trump announced a "phase one" trade deal with China, agreeing that the United States would not increase tariffs on Chinese imports while China would increase purchases of US agricultural products. However, the agreement has yet to be put in writing and the details that have been shared publicly are quite limited in scope.

Even as the trade war drags into its eighteenth month, negotiations have led to little progress on the Trump administration's core complaints about the US-China relationship - namely, China's lack of protection for US intellectual property (IP) and its policy of forced technology transfers. Despite initial reports stating that the "phase one" agreement would include additional protections for enforcing IP rights in China, officials have yet to clarify what these protections may include.

Continued pressure from...