Experts' take on the Sino-US Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement

Editors' Note: On August 7, 2023, the University of California, Berkeley center for Legal and Technology held a webinar to discuss the past, present, and future of the Sino-US Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement. Several American experts who have been engaged in the research and practice of Sino-US scientific and technological relations for a long time spoke, with about the talk focused on the significance of the agreement for scientific cooperation between the China-US governments and the public and private sectors, the achievements and benefits derived from the agreement, the challenges faced, and the prospects for renewal of the agreement. Here are the excerpts of the webinar.

Practitioners' Perspective

Based on his experience of participating in Sino-US scientific and technological cooperation since 1984, John Holdren reviewed the signing and implementation process of the S&T Agreement as well as the concerns and outstanding achievements of Sino-US S&T relationship. These types of agreements can promote the flow of knowledge and innovative resources to improve the efficiency of research and development, provide a stable political and economic environment for scientific and technological capacity building, promote the understanding and entry of each other's overseas markets, enhance the exchange of scientific and technological personnel, and contribute to reducing political tensions. At present, many members of the US Congress and national security establishment are overly focused on the risks and downplay the benefits to the US of cooperation, which is a key problem facing the current renewal of the agreement.

Holdren said Biden understands more about the benefits of Sino-US technology cooperation than Trump, but the current poor state of Sino-US relations and the pressure of the 2024 election limit his freedom of movement, especially because some members of Congress strongly resist renewal of the S&T agreement. He also mentioned that the recent chairman of the House Special Committee on China and nine other Republican politicians jointly sent a letter to Secretary of State Blinken, suggesting that Sino-US agricultural and atmospheric monitoring cooperation pose a threat to the national security of the United States, and expressed concern about the development of dual-use technologies and the integration of dual-use technologies in China. Holdren said these arguments are untenable. He hopes that the agreement can be renewed, and the two sides will continue to make efforts to reduce the risks of cooperation and increase the output of cooperation.

John Holdren is research professor in Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and co-director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program in the School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.