is the China-US Joint Research Center for Ecosystem and Environmental Change at the

125 is the China-US Joint Research Center for Ecosystem and Environmental Change at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.“ Launched in 2006, researchers from the University of Tennessee and the DOE-funded Oak Ridge National Laboratory partnered with the Chinese Academy of Sciences to address “the combined effects of climate change and human activities on regional and global ecosystems and explore technologies for restoration of degraded environments.” The center’s research focuses on science at the heart of the “green technology” revolution, which is one of Beijing’s major national industrial policy objectives. The center’s website lays out three goals that match nicely with a tech transfer agenda: (1) organize and implement international scientific and engineering research; (2) serve as a center for scientific information exchange; and (3) provide international education and technical training.'' The website goes on to outline cooperative mechanisms to achieve these goals, including joint research projects, academic exchange, student education, and “technical transfer and training [emphasis added].”” This dynamic differs fundamentally from the mission of Western research facilities abroad, which is to adapt technology already in their portfolios to sell in foreign markets. A PRC study on the benefits of overseas “research” to obtain foreign technology put it this way: “How can you get the tiger cub if you don’t go into the tiger’s den?” (RARA,.BERT).Y Cyber Perhaps the most damaging channel for stealing US intellectual property is cyberespionage. As noted above, NSA director Keith Alexander has called cyberespionage by Chinese state actors the “greatest transfer of wealth in human history.” Cyberespionage is both a means for pilfering US science and technology, as well as a method of intelligence collection for potential attacks against American military, government, and commercial technical systems. As a result, these cyber intrusions represent a fundamental threat to American economic competitiveness and national security. Other means of misappropriation While not technology transfer per se, counterfeiting is so common in China that it has the same practical effect. Schemes range from the subtle to blatant: benchmarking against ISO standards; patent research where a design is modified slightly, if at all, re-patented in China and “legally” produced with government protection; reverse engineering;'® “imitative innovation” (&#l¥1)"” with or without the innovation (also called “imitative remanufacturing” #(#0ti&) ;* and marketing the pirated product without or with its original logo.’ Other reporting has detailed how the Chinese government exploits regulatory panels (often with members who have direct conflicts of interest by working for local competitors) and antitrust investigations to acquire trade secrets from foreign companies, aiding domestic industries.”° Section 8 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020584