US seeks to extend Science and Technology Agreement with China
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Extending it will provide the US with time to jumpstart negotiations to amend and strengthen it while not committing to a long-term extension, according to the State Department.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China, June 19, 2023 (AFP)
The United States is aiming to extend the US-China Science and Technology Agreement (STA) for six months since it is due to expire on August 27, according to a State Department spokesperson on Wednesday.
In its statement, the State Department said the US "in coordination with the interagency, [is] seeking a six-month extension of the US-PRC Science and Technology Agreement (STA). The agreement, originally signed in 1979, and extended most recently in 2018, is due to expire on August 27."
Extending it will provide the US with time to jumpstart negotiations to amend and strengthen it while not committing to a long-term extension, it added.
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The statement concluded that the US remains “clear-eyed” to the challenges of China’s strategies in the field of science and technology and the "threat" to US national security.
This comes after a group of Republican lawmakers requested Secretary of State Antony Blinken not to renew the agreement in June.
Earlier this month, an executive order was signed by US President Joe Biden to prohibit specific US investments in "sensitive technologies and products" in China.
In three industries—semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technology, and certain AI systems—the order empowers the US Treasury Secretary to prohibit or restrict some US investments in Chinese businesses. The plan is aimed against investments in Chinese businesses producing chip-design software and manufacturing technologies.
Republicans believed that Biden's order still did not go far enough. For example, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul said, “The failure to include existing technology investments as well as sectors like biotechnology and energy is concerning.”
