WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th June, 2023) US lawmakers have urged US Secretary of State Antony Blinken not to renew the science and technology cooperative agreement with China, a letter published by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik said on Tuesday.
"We write to strongly recommend that the Administration not renew the Agreement between the United States and the People's Republic of China on Cooperation in Science and Technology (STA) that will expire on August 27, 2023," the letter said. "We are concerned that the PRC has previously leveraged the STA to advance its military objectives and will continue to do so."
The letter was written by Stefanik, Select Committee on China Chairman Mike Gallagher, as well as several members of the US Congress.
"Reports suggest that research partnerships organized under the STA could have developed technologies that would later be used against the United States," the letter explained. "In 2018, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) organized a project with China's Meteorological Administration - under the STA - to launch instrumental balloons to study the atmosphere. As you know, a few years later, the PRC used similar balloon technology to surveil US military sites on US territory - a clear violation of our sovereignty."
The lawmakers went on to say that they are also worried about reports concerning cooperation on sensitive agricultural technologies.
"CCP Chairman Xi Jinping recently called on the PRC to boost self-reliance in agriculture technology, which he linked to national security," the letter said. "The US and the PRC are cooperating under the STA on agriculture - the US Department of Agriculture has over a dozen active research projects with PRC entities. Those projects include technologies with clear dual-use applications, such as developing techniques for analyzing satellite and drone imagery for irrigation management."
The lawmakers also said in the letter that China will use civilian research partnerships for military goals and will seek to exploit partnerships under the STA to advance its military objectives.
Earlier in the month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a long-awaited trip to Beijing to meet with senior Chinese diplomats, including President Xi Jinping, in an attempt to stabilize the US-China relationship.
Antony Blinken became the first US secretary of state to visit China in the last five years.
