President Donald Trumpapproved tariffs on about $50 billion of Chinese goods, people familiar with the decision said, as the U.S. ratchets up its trade fight with Beijing over China’s alleged pressure on U.S. firms to transfer technology to Chinese partners.

The approval followed a 90-minute meeting on Thursday of senior White House officials, national-security officials and senior representatives of the Treasury, Commerce Department, U.S. Trade Representative’s Office.

It...