US-China Tension Fuels Decoupling in Tech Research, Study Shows

US-China collaboration in technology research has fallen steadily to the lowest in 20 years, a shift an Australian think tank warns could reshape global innovation vital to security and economic growth.

Only a quarter of China’s collaborations involve American researchers, down from over half a decade ago, according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Critical Technology Tracker, which analyzed over 7 million papers across 74 critical fields. Collaboration intensity — the share of co-authored work relative to overall output — has dropped back to 2005 levels, according to the report released Wednesday.

The retreat comes at a ...