China is the only other country in the world that pushes science frontiers in a way that competes with the U.S. And right now, we are losing the science race.
I’m a professor of mechanical engineering, materials science, and chemistry at Duke University. I spent the past year at the State Department's Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation as a science fellow. My office at the State Department monitored scientific advances across the globe and coordinated with allies to ensure the protection of new technologies.
Why is it important that the U.S. “wins” at science? I’ll use an example from my own field of nanoscience. You might know someone whose cancer was treated with Abraxane, a nanoparticle-based chemotherapy. Let’s now imagine that China develops a new treatment for cancer and decides not to share it with us.
Or consider current developments in AI, quantum computing, and brain-machine interfaces. These all have military applications. I would certainly prefer that the U.S., not China, has the most advanced military technologies.
I’m not sure whether Trump voters were voting to stop the development of new technologies in the U.S. I doubt they were voting to support the Chinese Communist Party, but that’s the situation we are in now. We need a democracy that protects human rights to be the leader in science.
The science being produced by scientists in China is outstanding. The training of young scientists in China is better than the U.S. Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party have prioritized science, and it shows.
But our threat isn’t what China is doing to promote science. Our threat is coming from within the country — the Trump administration is destroying American science. Even if China weren’t moving ahead, the U.S. would still be moving backwards.
Since returning to office, President Trump has done everything possible to destroy U.S. science dominance and hand leadership in science and technology to the Chinese Communist Party. He is attacking U.S. science on all fronts — people, funding, and institutions. He is shutting down the training of scientists in the U.S. and the recruitment of top international scientists. He has stopped research at top universities and cancelled federally-funded projects he doesn’t agree with. He has attacked flagship federal science agencies like the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.
The attack on people is most concerning as this will have fallout for years. This year is the first in my career that many universities are not able to admit new PhD students for training due to the many actions taken by the Trump administration. China is certainly continuing to train PhD scientists while the U.S. is heading towards a future where our country no longer produces new scientists and engineers.
The U.S. doesn’t have enough scientists to keep up in the race for better computer chips or new treatments for disease. Most importantly, science thrives on people from different backgrounds coming together to forge new frontiers. Until now, we have recruited the best and brightest young scientists from around the world and encouraged them to stay in the United States. Ideally, we would recruit the top students from China and provide pathways for them to become citizens.
But now, top international students fear coming to the U.S. because of ICE arrests and travel bans. And even if they did want to come to the U.S., we might no longer have research institutions to take advantage of their ambitions.
The U.S. has the top universities in the world, but nearly all of these universities are now implementing hiring freezes and significant budget cuts as China pushes ahead.
My colleagues and friends at the State Department work incredibly hard to protect U.S. science through careful coordination with allies and partners. Their work, which happens behind the scenes, allows the U.S. to capitalize on the advances of scientists and engineers. But if Trump continues his attack on science, it’s not clear there will be any American science worth protecting.
Christine Payne is a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, and chemistry at Duke University. She served as a Jefferson Science Fellow at the State Department‘s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, Office of Critical Technology Protection, from January 2024 to January 2025. The opinions and characterizations in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. government.
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