How Chinese expertise helped to build US aerospace programmes

Throughout America’s ambition to lead the world in space exploration, engineers born in China have played major roles

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The US has led the charge in space exploration but China-born experts have helped America each step of the way. Photo: Reuters/Nasa

Published: 10:00pm, 17 Sep 2024Updated: 4:17pm, 25 Sep 2024

With a multitude of aerospace achievements under its belt – including landing the first humans on the moon – the United States has carved a bold path through space.

But what many may not know is that several China-born experts were among the scientists, engineers and astronauts who helped rocket the US to the forefront of the global space race.

The ongoing importance of Chinese and other foreign talent in American STEM fields was highlighted last month in a report released by the US National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.

“Students and scholars from abroad make an outsized contribution to advances in US science, innovation and invention, helping to keep the nation at the forefront of technological development,” said the report, which was commissioned by the US Department of Defence.

“The value proposition for international talent participation is clear and stark: the United States simply does not, and for the foreseeable future will not, develop sufficient domestic STEM talent at all levels of expertise to fully support the nation’s research and innovation system.”

The report on foreign talent programmes emphasised that, despite the importance of Chinese scientific expertise in the US, participation has not always been easy.

“The nation also has had difficulty cultivating research environments that are welcoming and inclusive for all and do not inadvertently discriminate against people on the basis of national origin or ethnicity during, and in the aftermath of, the US Department of Justice’s China Initiative,” the report said.