For over 40 years, a landmark agreement between the United States and China has yielded cooperation across a range of scientific and technical fields, a powerful sign that the rivals could set aside their disputes and work together.
Now with bilateral relations in their worst state in decades, a debate is underway within the U.S. government about whether to let the U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement (STA) expire later this year, three officials familiar with the discussions said.
With Antony Blinken in Beijing on the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state in five years and expectations low for any bilateral breakthrough, the debate over the oldest U.S.-China bilateral cooperation accord mirrors a bigger question dividing policy makers: do the benefits to the U.S. of engaging with China outweigh the risk of empowering a competitor who may play by different rules?