Vaccines keep the U.S. public healthy while safeguarding economic stability and biosecurity. This report assesses the domestic vaccine manufacturing landscape and identifies two major vulnerabilities: a reliance on foreign manufacturers and a lack of manufacturing redundancy. Maintaining a resilient vaccine supply will require the U.S. government to take steps to protect the existing supply, identify and monitor manufacturing vulnerabilities, and create a stronger domestic production base.

Pandemic threats are increasing as globalization, urbanization, and encroachment on animal habitats cause infectious outbreaks to become more frequent and severe. It is imperative that the United States build a pipeline of medical countermeasure development, beginning with basic scientific research and culminating in approved therapies. This report assesses preparedness for families of viral pathogens of pandemic potential and offers recommendations for steps the U.S. government can take to prepare for future pandemics.

This is a Hungarian translation of the May 2021 CSET Issue Brief “China’s Foreign Technology Wish List.”

This is a Russian translation of the May 2021 CSET Issue Brief “China’s Foreign Technology Wish List.”

CSET Director of Biotechnology Programs Anna Puglisi testified before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission at a hearing on "China’s Challenges and Capabilities in Educating and Training the Next Generation Workforce."

CSET's Anna Puglisi and Andrew Imbrie discuss actions democracies can take to shape the development of biotechnology.

Biosafety Level-3 laboratories (BSL-3) are an essential part of research infrastructure and are used to develop vaccines and therapies. The research conducted in them provides insights into host-pathogen interactions that may help prevent future pandemics. However, these facilities also potentially pose a risk to society through lab accidents or misuse. Despite their importance, there is no comprehensive list of BSL-3 facilities, or the institutions in which they are housed. By systematically assessing PubMed articles published in English from 2006-2021, this paper maps institutions that host BSL-3 labs by their locations, augmenting current knowledge of where high-containment research is conducted globally.

China’s State Key Laboratory system drives the country’s innovation in science and technology. A key part of China’s aim to reduce its dependence on foreign technology, these labs conduct cutting-edge basic and applied research, attract and train domestic and foreign talent, and conduct academic exchanges with foreign counterparts. These laboratories are spread across almost all Chinese provinces except Tibet, with the majority clustered in large coastal cities.

China’s State Key Laboratory system drives innovation in science and technology. These labs conduct cutting-edge basic and applied research, attract and train domestic and foreign talent, and conduct academic exchanges with foreign counterparts. This report assesses trends in the research priorities, management structures, and talent recruitment efforts of nearly five hundred Chinese State Key Labs. The accompanying data visualization maps their geographical locations and host institutions.

China is banking on applying AI to biotechnology research in order to transform itself into a “biotech superpower.” In pursuit of that goal, it has emphasized bringing together different aspects of the development cycle to foster multidisciplinary research. This data brief examines the emerging trend of co-location of AI and biotechnology researchers and explores the potential impact it will have on this growing field.

This brief illuminates the scale of Chinese government funding for higher education, science, and technology by exploring budget and expense reports for key government organizations and 34 of China’s most elite “Double First Class” universities. Chinese political leaders view elite universities as key components of the country’s military modernization, economic growth, and soft power; a situation that presents security risks for international partners.

In an opinion piece for Foreign Affairs, a team of CSET authors alongside coauthors make the case for the use of privacy-enhancing technologies to protect personal privacy.

CSET Senior Fellow Anna Puglisi testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on "Beijing's Long Arm: Threats to U.S. National Security." She offered recommendations to counter China's S&T collection efforts.

For the first time, a Chinese company—Huawei—is set to lead the global transition from one key national security infrastructure technology to the next. How did Washington, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, fail to protect U.S. firms in this strategic technology and allow a geopolitical competitor to take a leadership position in a national security relevant critical infrastructure such as telecommunications? This policy brief highlights the characteristics of 5G development that China leveraged, exploited, and supported to take the lead in this key technology. The Huawei case study is in some ways the canary in the coal mine for emerging technologies and an illustration of what can happen to U.S. competitiveness when China’s companies do not have to base decisions on market forces.

“Science and technology diplomats” act as brokers as part of China’s broader strategy to acquire foreign technology. Each year, they file hundreds of official reports on their activities. This issue brief illuminates trends in the 642 reports filed by the S&T directorates of Chinese embassies and consulates from 2015 to 2020, quantifying which types of technologies the Chinese government is most focused on acquiring, and from where.

Establishing a new open-source National Science and Technology Analysis Center