China urges US to end discriminatory measures against research institutions — Channel NewsAsia

China's Ministry of Commerce on October 23 called on the United States to «respect the facts» and immediately end measures against Chinese research institutions that Beijing described as discriminatory. The statement came amid restrictions on US research funding for dozens of Chinese universities, Channel NewsAsia reports.

Funding restrictions

In early October, a Republican lawmaker urged the US Department of Defense to add another 58 Chinese educational institutions and 62 technology laboratories to the so-called 1286 list. A letter reviewed by Reuters states that some of the named institutions operate in semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

The US Department of Defense cannot provide research funding to organizations that cooperate with Chinese universities on the list. The department considers such cooperation a compliance matter that could jeopardize US federal funding.

Beijing's position

The Chinese ministry said Washington's actions effectively force US research institutions to take sides and deliberately undermine normal scientific cooperation between China and the United States. Beijing also stressed that strengthening bilateral scientific interaction is in the common interests of both sides, while the restrictions imposed will, in the ministry's assessment, weaken the scientific and technological progress of the United States itself.