S.Res. 601 — Introduced in Senate

III 113th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 601 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES December 12, 2014 Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Kirk, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Cardin) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations RESOLUTION Recognizing 35 years of cooperation in science and technology between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. Whereas mutually beneficial cooperation between the Governments of the People’s Republic of China and the United States in promoting science and technology has made tremendous strides since the signing of the Agreement Between the Government of the United States and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation in Science and Technology, done at Washington January 31, 1979, which was the first inter-governmental agreement since the United States and the People’s Republic of China established diplomatic relations in 1979; Whereas the Governments of the People’s Republic of China and the United States have become active partners in fostering research and innovation since the signing of the Agreement Between the Government of the United States and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation in Science and Technology in 1979; Whereas cooperation in science and technology since 1979 has brought numerous benefits to both countries, including— (1) shared information on issues such as climate variability, seismic activity, and agricultural science; (2) joint publication of scientific and technological research; and (3) exchange of technical assistance and best practices in areas such as food and pharmaceutical safety and environmental cleanup; Whereas the continued promotion of science and technology in both countries holds the potential to advance shared interests, as well as the interests of United States partners and allies in the region and globally, including in mitigating the effects of climate change, securing the availability of water, food and energy, and improving public health, disease prevention, and pandemic response; Whereas the government-to-government relationship conducted under the Agreement Between the Government of the United States and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation in Science and Technology now consists of some 30 subordinate agency-to-agency protocols, including— (1) cooperation between the Department of Energy and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology to form the Clean Energy Research Center to explore advances in clean vehicles, advanced coal technology, and building energy efficiency; (2) cooperation between the Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology on agricultural biotechnology, natural resource management, food safety, and similar issues; (3) cooperation between the National Institutes of Health and the counterparts in China, including the Natural Science Foundation of China and Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology to conduct basic and clinical biomedical research; (4) cooperation between the Environmental Protection Agency and the counterparts in China, including the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection to support joint environmental research, and to exchange best practices on environmental legislation and enforcement; (5) exchange of personnel between the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop information exchange and response mechanisms for influenza pandemics; (6) collaboration between the Food and Drug Administration and food and medical regulators in China to enhance the safety of imported food and medical products from China through better information sharing and access to production facilities; and (7) collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Peking University Health Center (former Beijing Medical University) to study child health issues and health hazards caused by environmental factors; Whereas many educational institutions in the United States and China have established partnerships to further science and technology research, including— (1) Northwestern University, based in Evanston, Illinois, which has developed strategic partnerships in China, such as the Wanxiang Fellows Program, which allows Northwestern students to study emerging energy challenges and renewable energy innovations in the United States and China; and (2) University of California, Davis, based in Davis, California, which has partnered with China’s Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University in Shaanxi province to establish the Sino-U.S. Joint Research Center for Food Safety to promote international collaborative research for food safety in China and the United States; Whereas the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has signed 97 inter-institutional cooperative partnership agreements with various institutions that are headquartered in China in the fields of engineering, food sciences, and transportation, including a high-speed rail research partnership between the university's Railway Transportation and Engineering Center and China’s oldest and most recognized railway engineering school, Southwest Jiaotong University; Whereas, on December 5, 2014, China and the United States will commemorate the 30th anniversary, and renew for another ten years, the CHELBI partnership, which has created the largest joint venture engineering consulting firm in China, having undertaken over 600 bridge, road, and other projects the designs of which meet World Bank and Asian Development Bank standards, and has made significant progress in engineering knowledge-sharing for road, bridge, and other project design and construction between the United States and China; Whereas several United States Department of Energy national laboratories have established partnerships with research institutions in China to advance energy research, including— (1) Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois, which has worked with the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) to promote energy-efficient vehicle technologies and clean transportation fuels in China since 2003; and (2) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, which has formed the China Energy Group to work collaboratively with groups in China to understand the dynamics of energy use, improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions in China, strengthen Chinese capabilities in energy efficiency, and enhance relationships on energy efficiency among Chinese, United States, and international institutions; Whereas, in 2013, the State of California and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a working group to deepen cooperation in fields such as biological pharmaceuticals, information technology, agriculture, and energy; Whereas the exchange of ideas in science and technology and shared research conducted in China and the United States holds the potential to increase United States exports of non-sensitive commercial technologies to China; Whereas the agreement reached in November 2014 between the United States and the People’s Republic of China to expand the scope of goods covered by the Information Technology Agreement will further deepen trade, investment, and mutual cooperation in science and technology; Whereas collaboration in science and technology since 1979 has provided both countries with the technological foundation to make ambitious pledges to reduce future emissions of carbon dioxide; and Whereas people-to-people exchanges conducted under the Agreement Between the Government of the United States and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation in Science and Technology have fostered mutual understanding of both countries and have led to joint research in science and technology: Now, therefore, be it That the Senate— (1) recognizes the cooperation in science and technology between the Governments of the United States and the People’s Republic of China since 1979; (2) emphasizes the importance of open markets, intellectual property rights, and the free exchange of information to the development of science and technology; and (3) expresses continued support for the principles of the Agreement Between the Government of the United States and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation in Science and Technology, done at Washington January 31, 1979, to which both countries remain committed.