Recently, the US National Science Foundation issued a “letter to colleagues” announcing that it plans to implement the so-called new “research security policy” in fiscal year 2027 based on “national security” and other considerations, prohibiting cooperation with entities on the “US Restricted List” such as the US Department of Commerce's BIS Entity List, the Department of Defense's 1260H List, and the Federal Communications Commission's Control List on NSF-funded projects. The ban is wide-ranging and strict, restricting both joint research and personnel exchanges. At the institutional level, the ban stipulates that NSF grants no form of funding for cooperative research between any institution and a “restricted entity”, nor with individual employees of the relevant entity; at the individual level, the ban stipulates that “senior” or “key” personnel funded by NSF cannot hold any position or position in the “restricted entity”, receive research funding from the “restricted entity”, let alone cooperate with the “restricted entity” and its employees on NSF-funded research. Both China and the US are major producers of science in the world. Scientific research cooperation is not only beneficial to the improvement of the scientific and technological standards of the two countries, but also to the common welfare of all humankind. As an important funding agency in the US in the field of basic research, NSF should act as a promoter rather than a disruptor of Sino-US scientific research cooperation, and should not allow the ban on entities involving China that harm others and themselves to be implemented.

Recently, the US National Science Foundation issued a “letter to colleagues” announcing that it plans to implement the so-called new “research security policy” in fiscal year 2027 based on “national security” and other considerations, prohibiting cooperation with entities on the “US Restricted List” such as the US Department of Commerce's BIS Entity List, the Department of Defense's 1260H List, and the Federal Communications Commission's Control List on NSF-funded projects. The ban is wide-ranging and strict, restricting both joint research and personnel exchanges. At the institutional level, the ban stipulates that NSF grants no form of funding for cooperative research between any institution and a “restricted entity”, nor with individual employees of the relevant entity; at the individual level, the ban stipulates that “senior” or “key” personnel funded by NSF cannot hold any position or position in the “restricted entity”, receive research funding from the “restricted entity”, let alone cooperate with the “restricted entity” and its employees on NSF-funded research. Both China and the US are major producers of science in the world. Scientific research cooperation is not only beneficial to the improvement of the scientific and technological standards of the two countries, but also to the common welfare of all humankind. As an important funding agency in the US in the field of basic research, NSF should act as a promoter rather than a disruptor of Sino-US scientific research cooperation, and should not allow the ban on entities involving China that harm others and themselves to be implemented.