On Wednesday, July 15, the “House Committee on China Issues” of the United States House of Representatives held a hearing focusing on the benefits and risks of international scientific research cooperation, as well as how to prevent the Chinese Communist Party from stealing advanced research achievements in the United States to protect American innovation and national security.
The hearing, titled “Protecting American Innovation: Federal Research Security System,” was chaired by committee chairman and Republican Congressman John Moolenaar, with witnesses including Rebecca Keiser, acting chief of staff at the National Science Foundation (NSF), in attendance.
Chairman Moolenaar emphasized in his opening statement that America’s leadership in the field of science is rooted in its open, innovative, and excellent research system. However, the Chinese Communist Party has been attempting to steal these research achievements funded by American taxpayers.
Moolenaar stated, “China’s theft and misappropriation of American technology and research achievements is not a theoretical assumption, but a fact that has been confirmed through criminal prosecutions, intelligence assessments, congressional investigations, and the Chinese authorities’ own public strategies… Funding an entity that uses our openness for malicious purposes to violate human rights and attempt to replace America’s competitors is unacceptable.”
Moolenaar mentioned that in a report titled “Fox in the Henhouse” by the committee, it was found that about 1,400 recent publications were linked to funding from the Department of Defense in the U.S. and Chinese institutions, with over half associated with entities within China’s defense research and military industrial complex.
In May of this year, Moolenaar and Senator Jim Banks jointly introduced the “Securing Innovation and Research from Adversaries Act,” which explicitly prohibits the use of federal research funds for collaboration with entities and individuals on the U.S. blacklist.
Ro Khanna, the chief Democratic member of the committee, stated during his speech that there is “zero tolerance” for the theft of research achievements by American scientists by the Chinese Communist Party.
Khanna remarked, “The Chinese Communist Party is systematically trying to obtain our most sensitive research achievements. This is a real and ongoing challenge that we must stop.”
Khanna also emphasized that budget cuts by the government could impact U.S. security and innovation capabilities, stating, “If we truly value research security, we must invest appropriate resources.”
He added, “Why does the Chinese Communist Party so urgently want to obtain our research achievements? The reason is that American research is number one in the world. The reason the U.S. can lead is because we have spent decades building a successful system: an open research environment, the world’s best universities, and attracting the top talent globally.”
He noted that due to cuts in federal research funding, the number of new doctoral students admitted in the fall decreased by 15%, and overall doctoral student enrollment continues to decline.