Stanford faculty denounce DOJ China Initiative, seek end to screening of Chinese researchers for spy threats

More than 160 Stanford University professors have signed an open letter to the U.S. attorney general asking that the Justice Department to end the China Initiative, citing concerns that it harms the U.S.’s competitiveness and fuels racial biases. 

The Justice Department in 2018 launched the China Initiative to combat what officials saw as a multi-pronged effort by Beijing to steal intellectual property and conduct foreign influence operations in the U.S. 

During the Trump administration, a particular area of emphasis was placed on American college campuses and research institutions, where dozens of academics working in the U.S. were charged in cases that often accused them of failing to disclose research grants they had received from universities in China. A persistent concern at the time was that talent recruitment programs linked to the Chinese government were enticing academics to steal research from American universities for Beijing’s economic benefit.