President Biden has left yet another mess behind for President-elect Donald Trump by committing the United States to a tech sharing agreement with China. The Washington Examiner reports the agreement, which initially established such ties under President Jimmy Carter, is widely criticized over the way it benefits China, who is believed to be using the scientific knowledge it gets from the United States to enhance its own military and intelligence operations.
The agreement poses several problems for the United States, according to the Washington Examiner. From China using the agreement to “manipulate otherwise civilian technologies for military and other nefarious purposes” to making it more difficult for President-elect Trump to warn US allies against getting too close with China, the security risks it poses are concerning.
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, condemned the agreement arguing that the “renewal of the STA in the final days of the administration is a clear attempt to tie the hands of the incoming administration and deny them the opportunity to either leave the agreement or negotiate a better deal for the American people.”
China, on the other hand, praised the agreement with one Chinese official saying it “benefits both sides,” adding that it is “what the international community hopes to see.”
The risk of possibly enhancing China’s military because of tech sharing between the US and China is clear, but another concern is the message the agreement sends to US allies.
“All these allies are keen to increase their technology engagement with China to win new Chinese investments,” the Washington Examiner writes. “The only reason that they are proceeding cautiously on this front is that they know the United States is deeply concerned with China gaining access to new military-enabling technology.”
“Allies fear that the U.S. will retaliate against its own interests if it gets too close to China with tech sharing. By extending this agreement, however, Biden essentially sends the message that the U.S. isn’t all that concerned with such tech sharing. He thus undermines the incoming Trump administration’s ability to persuade allies to restrict their own tech sharing with China.”
With foreign policy at the top of the incoming administration’s priorities, given escalating tensions around the globe, Biden’s latest move reflects his apparent attempt to complicate President-elect Trump’s return to the White House. Trump has repeatedly warned against cozying up to China, but with his predecessor ignoring the red flags of doing so, Trump will have to navigate this agreement carefully for the sake of national security.
