A group of Republican senators is urging the Biden administration to revoke a freshly renewed science and technology agreement with communist China, citing concerns about the regime’s support for state-led industrial development and military objectives that harm U.S. interests.

But a group of Republican lawmakers, led by Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, say that the STA renewal was a mistake.

They argue that the era in which U.S.–China science and technology cooperation made sense is “long gone.”

“The risks are clear. We already know the PRC has leveraged research cooperation enabled by the STA to support state-led industrial development and advance military objectives that harm U.S. interests.”

The STA was signed in 1979, just weeks after the United States established diplomatic relations with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-ruled People’s Republic of China (PRC) to counter the Soviet Union’s influence.

The agreement was extended in 2018 and given temporary extensions last year and this year.

The senators say in their letter that the CCP’s control of its economic and research ecosystems allows it to leverage science and technology ties with the United States and other countries to acquire technology, fill knowledge gaps, and develop critical talent that advances its strategic and economic objectives.

“Renewal of the STA provides top cover to universities, businesses, and professional bodies to continue science and technology research cooperation with the PRC. The U.S. government should send the opposite signal,” they wrote.

Hagerty (R-Tenn.), ends with a call for a response on “this urgent matter.”

“STA renewal during the last days of this administration denies the incoming administration a chance to weigh in on this highly controversial agreement. The Biden Administration should reverse course,” it reads.