US-China Science and Technology Cooperation

mark cohen chi na dialogue photo

Monday, August 7, 2023
9:00 A.M – 12:00 P.M. (Pacific)
Virtual/Zoom

General CLE Credit Available

Recording | AgendaResources


Please join BCLT for an in-depth discussion on the controversies surrounding the renewal of the US-China Science and Technology Agreement. The current agreement needs to be renewed by August 27, 2023.  Our keynote speaker is Prof. John Holdren, former Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House during the Obama administration.

The agreement plays an important historical and practical role in guiding US–China cooperation on numerous shared bilateral and global challenges. It was the first bilateral agreement between the US and China. US climate envoy, John Kerry, visited China recently to seek further cooperation on global climate issues, which this bilateral agreement has governed. Nonetheless, the agreement is now the subject of considerable controversy arising concerns over whether the agreement benefits US interests, the risks of “IP Theft”, as well as broader geopolitical concerns. The newly-formed House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party has already “strongly recommend[ed]” that the agreement not be extended in a letter to Secretary of State Blinken on June 27.

We will discuss the role of this agreement in government, public sector, and private technology collaboration between the United States and China, the benefits and challenges the agreement poses, and how a new agreement might be structured, while addressing many of the criticisms and assessments of bilateral science cooperation.

The current agreement and other background materials are found on the resources page.  

Please send in any questions that you may have in advance to: mark.cohen@berkeley.edu.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

John Holdren
Formerly Director of the Office of Science and Technology in the White House
Harvard’s Kennedy School

SPEAKERS

Mark Cohen
Senior Fellow and Director, BCLT Asia IP Project
BCLT

Joanna Lewis
Associate Professor of Energy and Environment and Director of the Science, Technology and International Affairs Program (STIA)
Georgetown University

Deborah Seligsohn
Former Science Councilor at the US Embassy
Villanova University

Denis Simon
Clinical Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship
UNC/Chapel Hill

Paul Triolo
Senior Vice President for China and Technology Policy Lead
Albright Stonebridge

Caroline Wagner
Full Professor of Public Affairs
Ohio State University

MODERATORS

Mark Cohen
Senior Fellow and Director, BCLT Asia IP Project
BCLT

Denis Simon
Clinical Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship
UNC/Chapel Hill

Presented by

Asia IP & Competition Law Center at BCLT logo