IP that's worth stealing is not limited to one specific implementation, it's about using someone else's idea. (So "theft" is a misnomer, it's really about imitation.)

For example, if you buy a competitor's product to take it apart, replicate its components and assemble lots of knock-offs, you have some validation that the product is going to work, without having to do any costly planning and design yourself. All of that works without literally breaking into the competitor's factory to steal their equipment or their code.

For a lot of really valuable IP you won't find an open source implementation, or if you do, you won't be able to legally use it, at least as long as software patents are a thing.

It is utterly ridiculous that to take an =idea= is considered theft. In that case, pretty much every American corporation can be accused of theft. Google: Stolen from alta vista, Microsoft: Stolen from CP/M, Apple: Stolen from Xerox, The american space program: stolen from the Nazis! If that's the basis for accusing China of stealing IP, it's a pretty weak argument.

E.g. what is now a major Chinese player in the US market used to clone Juniper/Cisco routers down to the English silk screened assembly instructions on the circuit boards.

Here is an interesting example:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-24/chinese-f...

A Chinese wind turbine manufacturer paid a programmer working at American Superconductor to send them the source code used to run the turbines. The company shortly afterwards cancelled their contract w/ AMSC.

If you can simply copy the entire hardware design, pcb layout, firmware etc. of an hydraulic press, milling machine, washing machine, surveillance camera, USB serial adapter, etc. you can get a sellable product out the door fast and a lot cheaper than starting from scratch and doing it all yourself.

In biotech, it can take the form of patents not being honored. Also lab workers learning trade secrets, then the local government revoking business licenses for the US company essentially giving control of the business to a Chinese entity. Have even heard of the govt literally taking equity in successful startups from Chinese private venture funds in some cases

All of this is just anecdotal second hand evidence but wanted to answer the question :)

Also worth noting that China's government policies can create a domestic vacuum for products previously validated outside of China. Google's product and business model can be replicated for the 1.3+ billion Chinese citizens that don't have access.

Intellectual property is not just code. It can be patents, a product, a specific design.