US-China Science and Technology Cooperation

Monday, August 7, 2023
9:00 A.M – 12:00 P.M. (Pacific)
Virtual/Zoom

General CLE Credit Available

Registration | Agenda | Resources

The agreement plays an important historical and practical role in guiding US–China cooperation on numerous shared bilateral and global challenges. It was the first bilateral agreement between the US and China. US climate envoy, John Kerry, visited China recently to seek further cooperation on global climate issues, which this bilateral agreement has governed. Nonetheless, the agreement is now the subject of considerable controversy arising concerns over whether the agreement benefits US interests, the risks of “IP Theft”, as well as broader geopolitical concerns. The newly-formed House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party has already “strongly recommend[ed]” that the agreement not be extended in a letter to Secretary of State Blinken on June 27.

We will discuss the role of this agreement in government, public sector, and private technology collaboration between the United States and China, the benefits and challenges the agreement poses, and how a new agreement might be structured, while addressing many of the criticisms and assessments of bilateral science cooperation.

The current agreement and other background materials are found on the resources page.