China | Political science

The clock is ticking on an old deal between America and China

Why Republicans oppose the Science and Technology Co-operation Agreement

An employee handles a sample at a laboratory of biotech start-up Prenetics/Circle DNA in Hong Kong.
The window is closingImage: Getty Images
|BEIJING

America and China established full diplomatic relations on January 1st 1979. By the end of that month they had also signed the Science and Technology Co-operation Agreement (STA). The deal didn’t commit either side to much, but it laid out a shared desire for collaboration in these areas. Its terms call for renewal “by mutual agreement” every five years. For decades that happened with little fuss. Now, though, things are looking shaky. The deadline is August 27th.

This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Political science”

From the August 26th 2023 edition

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