The US must do more to keep Chinese citizens from accessing its scientific research, including barring them from the country’s national laboratories, lawmakers and experts warned on Thursday, in the latest sign of intensifying government scrutiny of America’s research and development systems.
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“There’s been literally a whole generation of successful efforts by Communist China on stealing stuff,” said Paul Dabbar, CEO of California-based Bohr Quantum Technology and Donald Trump’s former Department of Energy undersecretary for science.
Testifying at a hearing convened by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Dabbar recommended a default “ban [on] Chinese nationals at the national labs” with the department able to grant waivers.
The Department of Energy oversees 17 national labs that have played a critical role in advancing technological research in everything from nuclear weapons to clean energy and artificial intelligence.
Dabbar’s comments came as Washington debates how best to attract top talent for innovation while safeguarding American intellectual property rights and national security.
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