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The
deal, signed when Beijing and Washington established diplomatic
ties in 1979 and renewed about every five years since, has
resulted in cooperation in areas from atmospheric and
agricultural science to basic research in physics and chemistry.
But concerns about China's growing military prowess and theft of
U.S. scientific and commercial achievements have prompted
questions about whether the Science and Technology Agreement (STA)
set to expire on Aug. 27 should continue.
In a letter sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the chair
of the U.S. House of Representative's select committee on China
Mike Gallagher and nine other Republican representatives said
the deal should be scrapped.
The letter cited concerns about joint work between the U.S. and
China's Meteorological Administration on "instrumented
balloons", as well as more than a dozen U.S. Department of
Agriculture projects with Chinese entities that it said include
technologies with "clear dual-use applications," including
techniques to analyze satellite and drone imagery for irrigation
management.
"The PRC (People's Republic of China) uses academic researchers,
industrial espionage, forced technology transfers, and other
tactics to gain an edge in critical technologies, which in turn
fuels the People's Liberation Army modernization," the lawmakers
wrote.
"The United States must stop fueling its own destruction.
Letting the STA expire is a good first step," they said.
China has sought to accelerate efforts to achieve self-reliance
in agricultural technology, including in seed development. U.S.
authorities have stepped up efforts to counter what they say is
industrial espionage by Chinese individuals in the sector.
China's officials hope to extend the deal, and have said
publicly they approached the U.S. last year to discuss renewal,
but that Washington has been conducting a review of the
agreement.
The State Department earlier this month declined to comment on
"internal deliberations on negotiations."
Proponents of renewing the deal argue that without it, the U.S.
would lose valuable insight into China's technical advances.
Nonetheless, many analysts say the agreement must be
fundamentally reworked to safeguard U.S. innovation in a time of
heightened strategic competition with China.
(Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Don Durfee and Jamie
Freed)
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