Apple’s technology may have been stolen by China, a senior Trump administration official suggested Friday.

Larry Kudrow, director of the National Economic Council, in an interview with Bloomberg, said he believes the country or state-run businesses there could have “picked off” corporate secrets from the Cupertino-based tech giant.

“I don’t want to surmise too much here, but Apple technology may have been picked off by China and now China is becoming very competitive with Apple,” Kudlow said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. ” You’ve got to have rule of law. … There’s no enforcement; there’s nothing concrete.”

Kudlow’s speculation comes as Apple this week surprised investors by announcing it would fail to meet its revenue projections, in large part because of sales shortfalls in China. That revelation follows China’s Huawei passing Apple in smartphone sales.

Kudlow’s comments also occur against a backdrop of escalating trade tensions between China and the U.S. The two countries are scheduled to meet next week to discuss the ongoing dispute over tariffs and attempt to work out an agreement. While negotiations continue, President Donald Trump has agreed to put on hold a scheduled increase in tariffs on some $200 billion in annual imports from China.