Trump's US mustn't repeat its profiling of Chinese scientists

Espionage suspicions could lead the US to lose its war for talent

- CATHERINE THORBECKE

Donald Trump's return to the White House is stoking fears that he could reinstate a failed scheme launched during his first term that aimed to crack down on Chinese espionage, but ended up becoming more of a witch-hunt. Doing so would not only be destructive to American innovation, but give China an upper-hand in the tech race.

The China Initiative, launched in 2018, was an extensive national security effort intended to prevent intellectual property theft and the transfer of US technological knowledge to China. It was led by the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation before being dismantled under the Biden administration in 2022. It devolved into an ineffective racial profiling campaign targeting Asian American academics and left a string of wrongful accusations that upended researchers' lives while doing little to stamp out suspected spying.

The president-elect's return brings fresh anxiety that it will be reinstated. A bill advanced in the House earlier this year has been blasted by some lawmakers as an attempt to revive the programme under a different name. Project 2025, the viral conservative policy white paper that has been linked to Trump's agenda (he has tried to distance himself from it), expressly calls to "restart the China Initiative." Trump has also surrounded himself with China hawks as he builds his new cabinet and campaigned on an "America First" vision.