The Industrial Technology Research Institute's companion robot plays scrabble with attendees at CES International in Las Vegas in January 2018. Photo: IC

The US government could be endangering the very foundations of US technological supremacy by purposely raising the threshold for experts without US nationality to work at top-notch US companies.

Although it is understandable that a nation will have rules to prevent its key technology from leaking, it is not so understandable that the US seems to be intentionally blocking experts from top technology jobs simply based on nationality.

According to a Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday, the US government has drastically slowed its approval process for jobs that involve "sensitive" technologies, and this has prevented Chinese nationals from landing such positions. The change has reportedly affected hundreds of jobs and big companies such as Intel Corp and Qualcomm Inc.

The US has had this approval system in place for a long time, but the change in approval times can't be understood without looking at the big picture of the China-US trade war, China's rising challenge to US technology dominance and a rising voice in Washington calling for the US to decouple from China.

For years, the US has been relying on China's pipeline of talent to fuel its cutting-edge industries, which require a handsome input of human capital. One interesting fact is that Chinese nationals account for a large share of non-US citizens holding such jobs. 

On the other end of the pipeline, China's vast population, its rigorous educational system and diligent students have yielded a large pool of talent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Many of these people pursue further studies in the US and then work there. 

Now the door is closing for those with Chinese nationality, and this has revealed the tendency of the US to discriminate against experts for no reason except nationality. This stance could have collateral damage as experts from other countries may feel they are the next to be expelled.

However, the days when the world's top people would rely on the US to realize their potential and achieve their ambitions, due to its great platform, state-of-the-art hardware and great incentives, are also fading. 

Such people can now work elsewhere, and China appears to be a top alternative with its burgeoning digital economy, growing emphasis on basic research and rising respect for intellectuals.

As the flow of talent reverses in the China-US pipeline, the balance of technological competitiveness may tip over, too, in favor of China.

One of the founding blocks of American technological supremacy is the country's ability to absorb and retain experts, no matter where they are from. The foundation is cracking with the discrimination we are seeing.


Newspaper headline: Block on talent undermines US