US-China Technology Issues

Under the China–US STA framework, it was agreed to foster collaboration in agriculture, energy, health, environment and other fields between Chinese and US universities, laboratories and private agencies. For the US, it allowed Chinese talent into international science, gave access to Chinese data on natural and social sciences and in particular, countered the Soviet influence. For the Chinese, it provided ample opportunities to build their own science programmes and economic development by collaborating with US based facilities, as Chinese science programmes had been decimated due to the ‘Cultural Revolution’ under Mao.Research collaboration between China and the US has grown significantly, both in terms of joint research projects, number of visiting students in science and engineering and co-authored publications. A significant collaboration under the auspices of the STA was the establishment of the US$ 150 million jointly funded, U.S.–China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) in 2009, aimed at bolstering research and development of technologies to improve energy efficiency, carbon sequestration and low-emissions vehicles. From 2009, China and US shared the highest collaborations in the area of ‘high impact’ and high-technology research.Meanwhile, in the Nature Index, between 2015 and 2020, the number of papers co-authored by Chinese and US researchers leapt from 3,412 to 5,213.However, more recently, collaboration in science and technology between China and the US has declined, mainly caused by trade friction, where Chinese technologies development figured prominently.The bilateral collaboration score between China and the US has dropped by 15 per cent since 2020.Dual-use technology and illicit flows of proprietary secrets and intellectual property to China have been major concerns for the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director, Christopher Wary declared that it has been “aggressively working to protect America’s economic security from China’s relentless efforts to steal our innovation and intellectual property” where around 2,000 cases are being investigated by the FBI.Scientific collaboration between China and the US came under intense scrutiny during the Trump administration. In 2018, the US Department of Justice launched the ‘China Initiative’ wherein, it investigated possible Chinese intellectual property theft and espionage. Simultaneously, the US National Institute of Health launched probes against mostly Chinese scientists, affiliated with more than 50 institutions across the US, for violating the terms of their grants. Several Chinese and American-Chinese descent scientists, including a prominent mechanical engineer professor from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Gang Chen, were charged.Attorney General William P. Barr stated that the actions were “to confront China’s malign behaviors and protect U.S. technology”. In February 2022, the Biden administration discontinued the ‘China Initiative’, as critics lamented that it had strayed far from its original objectives, but the effort did have chilling effects among researchers across US universities. For the first time, in 2022, China had the largest number of natural science research papers in Nature Index, surpassing the United States.In 2019, China become the largest filer of international patent applications at the World Intellectual Property Organisation.In the AI Index Report 2023, China is the leading nation in research on Artificial Intelligence, accounting for 40 per cent of all publications, followed by UK/EU (15 per cent) and the US (10 per cent).In recent years, several major breakthroughs were made in quantum computing, astronomical observation and the brain-computer interface. China also successfully landed Zhurong on planet Mars in May 2021 and completed the Tiangong space station in October 2022.For the US, a number of detrimental consequences could follow from decoupling from China science and education systems and therefore experts are warning of the need to consider ‘cost-benefit analysis’ carefully before restrictive policies are adopted. Apart from the contribution to the US economy, international students studying across US colleges and universities have contributed US$ 40.1 billion and supported 368,333 jobs during the 2022–2023 academic year. The US has been able to attract many outstanding students from China who have contributed to US science and technology innovations. Restrictive policies like denial of visas will more likely deny talent from attending American schools.