The U.S.-China Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement (STA), the first bilateral agreement signed shortly after the United States and China established diplomatic relations in 1979, has been renewed multiple times. Scientists from the two countries have collaborated on cancer prevention, malaria treatment, vaccines, and more; the results of their efforts have benefited the people of both countries and the world. In August 2024, the STA expired, but on December 13, 2024, the two countries signed a protocol amending the STA and extending it for another five years, suggesting that rumors of the death of collaboration were premature. However, the actual agreement wasn’t published for four months, in April 2025.
In an interview conducted on August 5, 2025, Scott Kennedy, Deborah Seligsohn, and Denis Simon speak with Abigail Coplin about the renewal of the STA, the future of U.S.-China scientific cooperation, and implications for overall U.S.-China relations.
