Trump administration warns of Chinese and other foreign government influence on US research
- Officials note ‘increasingly sophisticated efforts’ to exploit and influence potentially lucrative research activities
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Juan Perez Jnr on politico.com on November 26, 2019.
The Trump administration wants businesses, universities and civic groups to help improve American science research – while citing threats of foreign government influence as a key concern.
A request out this week from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy seeks input on less contentious items such as administrative workloads and how to make the country’s research environment more welcoming.
But officials also note “increasingly sophisticated efforts” to exploit and influence potentially lucrative research activities.
That includes undisclosed foreign funding, conflicts of interest and even what the administration request describes as a “surreptitious gaming of the peer-review process”.
Now the White House wants to hear how government can work with research organisations to learn about their financial support and professional affiliations, bolster their security and determine if overseas recruitment programmes are involved.
