The United States and China on Friday inked an agreement to extend and amend a decades-old deal to collaborate on science and technology research, which had expired in August. The signing of the new deal by the Biden administration in the “lame duck” period before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20 came in spite of strong opposition from leading Republicans in Congress.
The Science and Technology Agreement, or STA, allows for sharing of science and technology research and was the first accord signed by U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 amid the two countries’ Cold War-era rapprochement.The deal governs how universities and other advanced research institutions in the United States and China can share findings or even collaborate. But it was allowed to lapse on Aug. 27 amid concerns from U.S. officials and lawmakers amid a growing rivalry with China.
