Lawmakers Object to Biden's Renewal of US-China Science, Tech Agreement
A group of Senate Republicans criticized the State Department’s decision this month to renew the U.S.-China Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement for another five years, saying it gives “cover” to universities, businesses and others to continue research cooperation with entities tied to the Chinese government.
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The lawmakers, led by Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the State Department briefed the committee on the agreement, but members still have “deep concerns about the adequacy of measures to protect American researchers” and “safeguard against illicit knowledge transfers.” They also said the State Department’s decision to renew the agreement in the administration’s final days “denies the incoming administration a chance to weigh in on this highly controversial agreement.”
“The Biden Administration should reverse course,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
A State Department spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment. In its news release announcing the agreement’s renewal, the agency said it “sustains intellectual property protections, establishes new guardrails for implementing agencies to protect the safety and security of their researchers, and advances U.S. interests through newly established and strengthened provisions on transparency and data reciprocity.”