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Can science bridge the US-China trust gap? Maybe with new rules, researchers say

Continuous dialogue and clearly defined boundaries between security and development are crucial, Fudan University researchers say

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Fan ChenPublished: 10:00pm, 23 Jul 2026Updated: 11:21pm, 23 Jul 2026

Scientific ties can be a stabilising force in relations between China and the US but as the two countries jostle for a hi-tech edge, maintaining these links will mean going beyond simple competition versus cooperation.

To get there, Beijing and Washington will need to keep in continuous contact and have clearly defined boundaries, with narrower areas of collaboration.

That was the finding Zhao Minghao, a professor at Fudan University’s Institute of International Studies, and Chen Yutong, a graduate student at the institute, outlined in a research paper on July 15 in the China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies, the journal of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.The hi-tech rivalry between Washington and Beijing has evolved over the past decade from trade disputes to a systemic battle that targets cross-border talent pipelines, with the US increasingly seeing academic collaboration as a national security vulnerability.
08:30Why are more Chinese scientists leaving the US to return to China?That outlook was reflected in Washington’s 2018 decision to launch the China Initiative to combat suspected theft of trade secrets and intellectual property.AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed00:0000:001.00x