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

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.Why 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.