New Scientific Agreement Between U.S. and China Could Spur Unintended Chinese Military Development

The United States will continue to facilitate collaboration between American scientists and their Chinese counterparts despite U.S. concerns over China’s growing technological prowess. Washington and Beijing signed an agreement governing bilateral scientific and technological cooperation on December 13, ending months-long negotiations over the 45-year-old pact. Following a signing event in Beijing, the U.S. State Department hailed the agreement as “one way in which the United States is responsibly managing strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China (PRC).”

The renegotiated agreement is intended to address Washington’s concerns over Beijing’s efforts to modernize its military through economic and scientific espionage by limiting joint research on critical and emerging technologies. Despite these provisions, however, the pact will likely aid China’s efforts to compete with the United States by addressing weaknesses within Beijing’s science and technology industry.

New Agreement Aims to Reduce Risks of U.S.-China Scientific Cooperation

The agreement is intended to remove risks associated with U.S.-China scientific cooperation by addressing several emerging issues, including technology transfers, data transparency and reciprocity, and intellectual property protections. In contrast to prior agreements, the new deal only covers cooperation on basic research, a form of scientific inquiry conducted without any immediate application. This decision was intended to prevent the transfer of U.S. emerging or critical technologies such as artificial intelligence or quantum computing, which China has sought to incorporate into both its military and civilian industries.

Moreover, the new agreement also strengthens protections for U.S. scientific data and intellectual property. These measures are intended to address Beijing’s long-running efforts to both steal and monetize American commercial secrets and engage in protectionism by restricting foreigners’ access to Chinese data.

China Needs U.S. Cooperation to Close Critical Gap in Research and Development

The agreement provides China access to crucial support for its domestic research and development (R&D) pipeline, allowing Beijing to maintain its technological competition with Washington. Serving as the foundation for scientific and technological innovation, basic research generates novel findings that may eventually contribute to future commercial or military products, particularly within life sciences and cutting-edge technology, such as nanotechnology, which could eventually be used in advanced body armor. However, China’s basic research sector has long struggled from underinvestment and poor management, primarily spurred by the lack of a commercial incentive to invest in projects with uncertain economic or military potential.

In securing access to American basic research under the terms of the deal, China will gain another avenue to plug a crucial gap within its science and technology industrial base. Combined with expansive state investments into the country’s R&D sector, these efforts are critical for China’s long-term efforts to compete with the United States by developing new industries and modernizing its military.

Incoming Administration Should Position U.S. To Win its Technological Competition With China

The Biden administration’s efforts to remove the risks associated with scientific collaboration with China have positioned Beijing as the greatest beneficiary of the agreement.

In response, the incoming administration should immediately pause the agreement’s implementation by freezing approval for all projects proposed under its auspices. Moreover, working with Congress, the administration should also restart the China Initiative, a previous Department of Justice probe into potential Chinese economic espionage and intellectual property theft canceled by the Biden administration.

Jack Burnham is a research analyst in the China Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Jack and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Jack on X @JackBurnham802. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.