WASHINGTON—The Trump administration exerted further pressure Thursday on Beijing, unsealing criminal charges against two Chinese citizens allegedly tied to a state-sponsored campaign to steal sensitive information from businesses and several U.S. government agencies, including the Navy.

The charges come amid a broader push by the U.S. to deter cyberattacks and technology theft, and to reset trade relations with the world’s second largest economy on more favorable terms, through tariffs, sanctions, indictments and investment...