Halt the ongoing decoupling and reboot US-China scientific collaboration

This study reveals that, following bilateral reduced international visitation and academic exchange, Sino-American scientific collaboration is positioned at a turning point in a declining course. American international students originating from China have declined by nearly 22 %, and American students studying in China plummeted to 1.8 % of the number in 2018–2019. US-China interdependence in scientific collaboration has also reduced remarkably. At the same time, the concentration of influential research collaborated between the United States and China is consistently greater than both nations’ research outputs. Following the discussion of possible substitutes and the roles of American and Chinese researchers in global basic science and emerging issues, I argue that the two nations are so entwined in scientific collaboration that an adversarial rivalry perspective misses much of reality. In the face of rising uncertainties and global disasters, humanity does not have time to waste on nationalistic competitions. It is time for visionary leadership from both countries to promote intellectual exchange and scientific collaboration to address pressing global challenges.