US senators urge ban on Chinese citizens at national labs over AI security risk

Washington, DC [US], January 16 (ANI): A group of eleven US senators has urged Energy Secretary Chris Wright to impose an outright ban on Chinese citizens working inside America's national laboratories, warning that their presence could weaken the United States' strategic advantage in the global race for artificial intelligence (AI).
The lawmakers wrote to Wright, stressing that allowing Chinese citizens access to these facilities poses a fundamental security risk, The Epoch Times reported.
The Department of Energy, which supervises 17 national labs and funds major research efforts in nuclear, environmental, energy and frontier technologies, has been under pressure since US President Donald Trump directed it in late 2025 to launch the "Genesis Mission", a massive national drive to speed up AI development, described as a project on par with the historic Manhattan Project, according to The Epoch Times.
Yet, senators argue that this mission is being undermined by extensive Chinese access. Around 3,200 Chinese nationals received clearance to work at these labs in the 2024 fiscal year, excluding Chinese-origin permanent residents, meaning the real number is likely far higher.
The senators, Tom Cotton, Mike Lee, James Risch, Jim Justice and others, maintain that China's national security laws obligate all its citizens to support China's intelligence operations. This, combined with what they describe as the regime's widespread tactics of overseas intimidation, makes proper vetting insufficient.
Freedom House has repeatedly ranked China among the world's most aggressive actors of transnational repression, as cited by The Epoch Times.
Lawmakers also contend that the Energy Department cannot vet such a vast number of applicants, especially as China increasingly hides or softens individuals' ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
They insist that barring Chinese nationals altogether is the only reliable safeguard.
Their appeal follows a House investigation released in December, which found that US-funded research in sensitive fields such as quantum and AI was being conducted jointly with Chinese institutions.
The probe uncovered more than 4,000 co-authored papers and 2,000 Chinese citizens working inside national labs by 2025, as reported by The Epoch Times. (ANI)