A leading U.S. congressman is calling for the United States to join with allies in Europe and Asia to confront China over what he calls an “intolerable level” of economic espionage.

Mike Rogers, chairman of the Intelligence Committee in the House of Representatives, accused China on Tuesday of a massive and sustained effort to steal commercial data and intellectual property through cyber spying and other means.

He told a Congressional hearing the effort amounts to a trade war on the rest of the world which is unprecedented in history. But he said the United States and its allies together have the political and economic leverage to end the threat.

China routinely dismisses accusations of cyber-attacks and cyber-spying, saying it is very hard to determine the source of such attacks.

Rogers, a Republican, receives regular intelligence briefings in his capacity as chairman of the Intelligence Committee. Retired General Michael Hayden, a former chief of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, also remarked on the breadth and sophistication of Chinese espionage efforts.