Republican senators demand an end to science and tech cooperation with China

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of Republican senators is demanding that the Biden administration revoke a science and technology agreement with China. It comes barely a week after the two countries renewed cooperation for five more years to keep ties from deteriorating. In a letter Thursday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the lawmakers say the extension only “opens the door for further cooptation of American research.” They say the renewal of the agreement just before President Joe Biden leaves office “denies the incoming administration a chance to weigh in.” The first such agreement was signed in January 1979 when China severely lagged behind the U.S. in science and technology. Now it has become a strong rival.