Senate Report Highlights Illicit Transfer of Tech to China

A recent report published by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found that U.S. agencies are not adequately protecting U.S. research from exploitation by Chinese ‘talent recruitment programs.”  These programs, funded by the Chinese government, provide compensation and resources to Chinese researchers working in the U.S. (some recruits are not Chinese). Researchers are recruited to illicitly transfer critical technologies and science for China’s national security gain in return for salaries, research funding, lab space, and other incentives. The report claims that over the past 20 years China openly recruited U.S.-based researchers, scientists, and experts in the public and private sector to provide China with knowledge and intellectual capital, while the federal government’s grant-making agencies, the FBI and other federal agencies did little to prevent it from happening. The report has brought increased scrutiny to Chinese researchers working in the U.S. and promises to make life difficult for Chinese researchers who enter the country in good faith, according to Nathan Park, of counsel in Kobre & Kim’s Government Enforcement Defense group.