Researchers Must Be Wise to China's Exploitation of Data, US Official Says

Members of Congress on Thursday pressed Biden administration officials on measures to protect cutting-edge research conducted in the U.S. from being used to benefit China.

"The Chinese Communist Party has made it clear they intend to surpass us as the global leader in science and technology, and they have no qualms about using intellectual property theft, force technology acquisition, and other illicit means to do so. That's why this committee has been proactive in our response to this threat and has passed multiple bills to protect American research," Oklahoma Republican Representative Frank Lucas said at a hearing of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

The concern expressed by hearing participants echoes FBI director Christopher Wray's remarks in October that Beijing poses an unprecedented threat with its government-directed technology theft and wielding of disruptive tech like artificial intelligence and biotechnology without the legal constraints of its democratic rivals.

Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., with a written request for comment.

"The government needs to have timely, clear and uniform guidance on this issue for our agencies and our researchers," Lucas said. "It's unacceptable that we don't have that," he said, pointing out that agencies and industry stakeholders have complained of the difficulties of implementing safeguards on research in the absence of government standards.

In her remarks, Biden's science adviser Arati Prabhakar said China differs from most other nations due to its efforts to secure foreign technology by any means necessary, its use of unfair competition, and its government-mandated fusion of its military and civilian research sectors.

China is the "only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and the ability to harness significant military and economic power to advance that objective," Prabhakar said. "Technology and research and development are central to this competition."

However, Prabhakar said that Washington's efforts to safeguard its scientific advances must be tempered by respect for the individual and rejecting racism and xenophobia.

Citing the major role immigrants and international collaborations have played in American technological and research prowess, she stated: "It clearly just wouldn't be to our advantage to create an atmosphere that is hostile to attracting the world's greatest minds."

Prabhakar, who also heads the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), said the path to striking this balance has been "complex" and longer than anticipated. She said the administration is finalizing new guidelines to help universities and other research institutions restrict "malign foreign talent."

She also referred to newly drafted disclosure forms whereby researchers are expected to report sources of funding and potential conflicts of interest, developed by the National Science and Technology Council.

"That's what's accomplished at this point. What we're working on right now very in a very focused manner is guidance for research security programs in universities," Prabhakar said.

Michael Lauer, deputy director for Extramural Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), spoke to the scope of suspected foreign agents in U.S. research programs in recent years.

"Since 2018, NIH has received allegations involving over 600 scientists. We and our office of extramural research have contacted institutions in 255 cases where there were likely foreign interference concerns with scientific or budgetary overlap over commitment or undisclosed financial conflicts of interest," he said.

Lauer added that the agency has launched "hundreds of administrative actions on grants, three criminal convictions, and two false claims civil settlements."

He said, however, these should be put into context: fewer than 1 percent of the more than 40,000 principal investigator scientists who received NIH funding have been tied to foreign interference.

Moreover, "since 2020, the number of new allegations of undue foreign interference have substantially declined, and most have come from university self-disclosures," Lauer said, praising the proactivity of these institutions.

Lauer lauded the NIH's partnership with the OSTP and other agencies in implementing the updated policy guidance.

Update 2/17/2024 12:36 a.m. EDT: This article was updated with a comment from Dr. Michael Lauer.