White House considers restricting Chinese researchers over espionage fears
WASHINGTON (NYTIMES) - It sounds like something out of a science fiction movie: In April, China is said to have tested an invisibility cloak that would allow ordinary fighter jets to suddenly vanish from radar screens.
This advancement, which could prove to be a critical intelligence breakthrough, is one that US officials fear China may have gained in part from a Chinese researcher who roused suspicions while working on a similar technology at a Duke University laboratory in 2008.
The researcher, who was investigated by the FBI but was never charged with a crime, ultimately returned to China, became a billionaire and opened a thriving research institute that worked on some projects related to those he studied at Duke.
The Trump administration, concerned about China's growing technological prowess, is considering strict measures to block Chinese citizens from performing sensitive research at American universities and research institutes over fears they may be acquiring intellectual secrets, according to people familiar with the deliberations.
The White House is discussing whether to limit the access of Chinese citizens to the United States, including restricting certain types of visas available to them and greatly expanding rules pertaining to Chinese researchers who work on projects with military or intelligence value at US companies and universities.
The exact types of projects that would be subject to restrictions are unclear, but the measures could clamp down on collaboration in advanced materials, software and other technologies at the heart of Beijing's plan to dominate cutting-edge technologies like advanced microchips, artificial intelligence and electric cars, known as Made in China 2025.
The potential curbs are part of a broad set of measures the administration says are necessary to combat a growing national security threat from China, which it has accused of pressuring or coercing US companies into handing over valuable trade secrets.
But blocking Chinese citizens' access to American laboratories over fears of spying would be a significant escalation in an emerging cold war with the Chinese over which nation will claim technological dominance.
More than one million foreign students study in the United States each year, with roughly one-third coming from China.
The restrictions would cover Chinese nationals, but with two exceptions: those with green cards, which give them the right to permanent residency in the United States, and those who have been granted asylum because of persecution in their home country.
Also exempt would be former Chinese nationals who renounce their citizenship and become naturalized Americans.
An attempt to crack down on Chinese citizens could further chill relations between the two nations, whose closely integrated markets support the most prominent companies around the globe.
Technology companies like Apple, Qualcomm, IBM and General Electric have hitched their future growth to access to the Chinese market, which the Trump administration is now threatening to curtail.
This week, a delegation of administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, will head to China for discussions to help avoid a brewing trade war. But additional curbs on Chinese citizens could make those tough discussions even harder.
President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on roughly US$150 billion of Chinese goods in retaliation for unfair trade practices - a proposal that sparked tariff threats of China's own.
The administration is expected to detail new plans for restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States by the end of May. Congress is also considering giving the US broader authority to restrict Chinese investments.
These measures could prompt more damaging retaliation from China, which has already promised to place tariffs on at least US$50 billion of US products. They also appear to be fueling anti-American sentiment within Chinese borders. China has tightened measures against possible spying, even posting public service announcements in subway trains warning citizens to watch foreigners for signs of espionage.
In the United States, research institutes look particularly vulnerable to espionage.
According to Defense Department statistics, nearly a quarter of all foreign efforts to obtain sensitive or classified information in 2014 were routed through academic institutions.
At a congressional hearing in April, Michelle Van Cleave, a former national counterintelligence executive, said the freedom and openness of the United States made the country a "spy's paradise".
Chinese and Russian agents both come to the US with "detailed shopping lists."
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