Republican lawmakers have urged the United States against renewing a science and technology cooperation deal it signed with China in 1979, fearing that the communist regime may exploit it to gain a military edge against the United States.
The U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement (STA), set to expire on Aug. 27, has facilitated collaboration in areas ranging from agricultural science to basic research in physics and chemistry.
However, Republican lawmakers warned that research partnerships organized under the STA could lead to China developing technologies that may be used against the United States in the future.
“The United States must stop fueling its own destruction. Letting the STA expire is a good first step,” the lawmakers stated in a joint letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on June 27….