Lawmakers on Thursday pressed Biden administration officials for steps to ensure cutting-edge research done in the United States is not used to benefit China.
“The Chinese Communist Party has made it clear that it intends to overtake us as the world leader in science and technology, and has vowed to use intellectual property theft, forced acquisition of technology, and other illegal means to do so. “We have no hesitation, and that’s the reason for this committee.” Oklahoma Republican Rep. Frank Lucas said during a Science, Space, and Technology Committee hearing, “The United States is proactive in responding to this threat. “We have passed multiple bills to protect American research.”
Concerns expressed by participants in the hearing were that the Chinese government poses an unprecedented threat from state-sponsored technology theft and the use of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology without legal constraints from its democratic rivals. This echoes FBI Director Christopher Wray’s comments in October that he believed that the United States was leading to the spread of the virus.
newsweek has written to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., seeking comment.
“The government needs to provide timely, clear and uniform guidance to agencies and researchers on this issue,” Lucas said. “The lack of that is unacceptable,” he said, noting that government agencies and industry stakeholders are frustrated by the difficulty of implementing safeguards for research in the absence of government standards.
Arati Prabhakar, Biden’s science adviser, said in remarks that China is working to secure foreign technology by any means necessary, exploiting unfair competition, and using government-mandated military and civilian research sectors. He said that it is different from many other countries in terms of its integration.
China is “the only competitor with both the intention to reshape the world order and the ability to leverage both military and economic power to advance that objective, and its economic and military “If you look at the competition, technology and research and development are at the heart of this competition,” she said.
Prabhakar said China is “the only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and the ability to leverage significant military and economic power to further that objective.” “Technology and research and development (R&D) are at the heart of this competition.”
But Prabhakar said Washington’s efforts to protect scientific progress must be tempered by respect for the individual and a rejection of racism and xenophobia.
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Citing the large role that immigration and international cooperation have played in America’s technological and research capabilities, she said, “Creating an atmosphere hostile to attracting the world’s best talent is clearly a challenge for us.” It’s not profitable.”
Prabhakar, who also heads the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said the path to achieving this balance is “complicated” and longer than expected. He said the administration is finalizing new guidelines to help universities and other research institutions limit “malicious foreign personnel.”
He also pointed to a newly drafted disclosure form developed by the National Science and Technology Council that requires researchers to report funding sources and potential conflicts of interest.
“That’s what we’ve accomplished at this point. What we’re very focused on right now is leading research security programs at universities,” Prabhakar said.
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