The News
The U.S. and China are severing ties in scientific research as tensions continue to accelerate between the two countries.
In Washington, some U.S. lawmakers are eager to see a decades-long joint science and technology agreement expire without further renewal. The agreement was signed in 1979 and has been routinely extended ever since.
The last time Beijing signed the agreement was in January 2018.
SIGNALS
The scientific decoupling is taking place amid growing concerns over information sharing. Since 2018, DC has clamped down on interactions between Chinese academics in American institutions and vice versa — launching hundreds of investigations into suspected espionage and forcing thousands• 1 of Chinese scientists out of U.S. universities. In several cases, Chinese academics have been accused of concealing extensive ties to China in grant applications and conducting research for the purpose of benefiting Beijing.
The Wall Street Journal, The U.S. Pursued Professors Working With China. Cases Are Faltering
But for students and scientists who left China for greater academic freedoms in the U.S., fears of government surveillance have left many feeling despondent• 2 . Four in 10 U.S.-trained Chinese researchers have returned home. “The U.S. government used to criticize the academic environment of the Soviet Union,” said Fields Medal winner Shing-Tung Yau, one of the most high-profile researchers to leave the U.S. for Beijing’s Tsinghua University. ”I didn’t expect that to be revived here.”
The Wall Street Journal, U.S.-China Tensions Fuel Outflow of Chinese Scientists From U.S. Universities
The U.S. needs Chinese scientists• 3 more than Beijing needs American research, some experts believe, given China’s scientific power. A National Science Foundation report says that American institutions have consistently chosen co-authors from China more than any other country to maintain the quality of their research. Chinese scholars also publish a large fraction of the top 1% most cited• 4 scientific papers. Opening up American higher education to the world “is not about helping China to become strong, nor should we delude ourselves about Beijing’s intentions,” writes Dan Murphy of Harvard Kennedy School. It’s about ensuring “that America remains the best country in the world for learning and research.”
The New York Times, Like It or Not, America Needs Chinese Scientists
China has continued to advance in areas of science and technology that are not reliant on foreign partnerships, such as artificial intelligence. But the decoupling has global implications:• 5 Chinese researchers who were prevented from working in the U.S. are now collaborating with Saudi Arabia on building a large language model, the FT reports.
The Financial Times, Saudi Arabia and UAE race to buy Nvidia chips to power AI ambitions