Science and security: Setting the direction for the UK's research relationship with China

Policy discussions of the UK’s research relationship with China are dominated by security concerns. While the idea of decoupling from China appears to be gaining increasing traction, recent research by RAND Europe has highlighted that these partnerships contribute notably to the UK’s academic excellence. UK-China collaboration can be mutually beneficial and crucial to tackling shared challenges. Rather than severing ties, many UK academics want to engage. For them to safely do so it is important that the UK provides clear guidance and develops a coherent overall China strategy. As both RAND Europe and HEPI have concluded, that will require substantially improving the level of China knowledge in the UK.