Republicans protest as the Biden administration signs a new agreement with China for scientific cooperation

The U.S. State Department stated Friday that the United States and China had renewed their research collaboration pact, this time with “robust national security guardrails,” in spite of Republican protests that the decision should have been left to the incoming Trump administration.

The historic U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement (STA), which has been in effect for 45 years, has resulted in collaboration in a variety of scientific domains, established a framework for agency exchanges, and provided the United States with access to Chinese data that is helpful in areas like earthquake, weather, and influenza monitoring.

However, in the face of growing worries that China too frequently violated intellectual property rights and reciprocity in data exchanges, the agreement, which has been extended almost every five years since it was first signed in 1979, expired this year.

Given that China is now a scientific powerhouse in its own right, even U.S. analysts who had backed the agreement’s renewal had stated that it needed to be radically revised to protect American innovation.

The State Department said the current agreement, which was signed only weeks before President-elect Donald Trump took office on January 20, is much more limited than earlier versions and only covers basic research, not emergent or essential technologies that are at the heart of the countries’ rivalry.

“As we negotiated this over the last year, we always kept in mind U.S. national security interests as our top and guiding consideration,” a senior State Department official told reporters during a teleconference that described the STA.

“We understood that failure to extend the STA could also have chilling effects in areas of scientific cooperation, which do benefit the United States,” added the diplomat.

The Republican chair of the House of Representatives’ China select committee, John Moolenaar, wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday, requesting that he “immediately suspend efforts” to extend the agreement.

“A renewal of the STA in the final days of the administration is a clear attempt to tie the hands of the incoming administration and deny them the opportunity to either leave the agreement or negotiate a better deal for the American people,” stated the letter obtained by Reuters.

Republicans on the committee spearheaded an effort to persuade the State Department to revoke any new agreement, claiming that China, which was keen to renew it, would take advantage of it to advance its military capabilities.

According to China’s Foreign Ministry, the five-year extension is a “important measure.”

“It will not only promote the scientific and technological progress and economic and social development of the two countries, but also advance the two sides’ ability to cope with global common challenges and enhance the well-being of the people of the world,” said the ministry.

According to the agreement, the State Department is in charge of weighing the risks and benefits of any collaboration that other departments suggest.

According to the State Department official, the deal contains a dispute resolution process in the event that any party violates its terms, as well as reinforced clauses on researcher safety and data exchange.

However, the source admitted that the “complete lack of transparency” frequently linked to China’s scientific activity and what it perceives as China’s history of obstructing data flows continue to worry the United States.

Since the agreement’s last renewal during the first Trump administration, U.S. worries have increased.

In the briefing, the State Department stated that collaboration under the framework persisted even though there was a temporary hiatus in the agreement this year while negotiations for renewal were in progress.

One senior State Department source added that the new agreement included a “termination clause” that could be used in the event that dispute resolution was unsuccessful. “There wasn’t an abrupt cessation of any ongoing activity at that point,” the official said.