In September 2015, a bilateral summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and then U.S. president Barack Obama laid the foundation for an international norm against cyber- enabled theft of intellectual property for commercial gain.

While the United States is right to counteract illicit technology transfer and protect work opportunities for Americans, it must do so in a way that avoids inflicting unnecessary harm on its own science and innovation base by disrupting one of its most important international STEM talent sources.

What are the ‘rules of the road’ for cyberspace, and who sets them? The question has risen in prominence and priority as cyber threats have grown more severe. A lack of clarity about acceptable behavior enables destabilizing cyber activity.

Immigration is critical to U.S. science success. But policies instituted under Donald Trump threaten STEM talent flows from China. The Biden administration should quickly revisit these changes.