‘It’s alarming’: US-funded research led to over 1,000 patents for China-based entities

Various U.S. government agencies have funded research for more than a decade that contributed to the creation of 1,020 U.S. patents for China-based entities, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The patents were granted in fields such as semiconductors, chemical engineering, nanotechnology, and biotechnology, and all were funded at least in part by the U.S. and one China-based investor, according to Reuters. The revelations come alongside debates over whether the U.S. should withdraw from the U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement, a bilateral research deal between the two countries that has fallen under some criticism for allegedly giving too much benefit to China.

“It’s alarming that U.S. taxpayers have unwittingly funded over 1,000 patents claimed by Chinese entities, with the Department of Defense accounting for nearly 100 of these patents,” Michigan Republican Rep. John Moolenar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, told Reuters.

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Among the patents listed were 197 in the pharmaceutical sector and 154 in biotechnologies, which are both highly strategic fields for both the U.S. and China, according to patent data reviewed by Reuters. It wasn’t clear whether the patents were shared by U.S. entities or other individuals.

The funding was provided by agencies including the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Energy (DOE), and four agencies receiving financial backing from NASA, which itself cannot directly cooperate with Chinese entities under U.S. law, according to Reuters. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also provided funding to help create 356 patents, more than any other agency.

It wasn’t clear what specific projects were protected under the patents, according to Reuters. There wasn’t an indication that the patents were funded by the U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement, which is the framework deal penned in 1979 to jointly conduct research between the two countries.

The U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement has fallen under scrutiny for allowing China to collaborate and glean from research that could help upgrade its military capabilities, according to Reuters. The deal expired in August but has been given multiple extensions, with the latest extension having ended on Tuesday.

DOD, DOE, and HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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