Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

The international aerospace media outlet SpaceNews published a commentary on Monday titled "It's time to unburden space cooperation with China," directly pointing to a long-standing issue: the Wolf Amendment, a congressional bar inhibiting civil collaboration between the US and China in space. As space exploration increasingly becomes a shared endeavor for all humanity, the stark reality that the US continues to rely on Cold War-style restrictions - trapping itself in an increasingly outdated system - has sparked some reflection from within the country. 

The Wolf Amendment came into being in 2011. Its core provision stipulates that no government funding given to NASA, the National Space Council, or the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy can be used to "collaborate with, host, or coordinate bilaterally with China or Chinese-owned companies" without congressional approval. The amendment was introduced by Congressman Frank Wolf, a Republican representative from Virginia who served in Congress from 1981 until 2015. Although Wolf is no longer in Congress, the law continues to constrain US space policy. Essentially, the Wolf Amendment politicizes and ideologizes space cooperation, binding scientific exploration within a political framework.

Although the SpaceNews' article still contains misconceptions on certain fundamental issues, such as China's "human rights" conditions, it clearly pointed out the negative effects of the Wolf Amendment on US space development: "The ban harms our security and future in space." The article also called for action: "Now is the time to allow our nation's best and brightest in space to forge new relationships." Over 14 years after the amendment was enacted, if the Wolf Amendment has served any purpose, it has been to push China-US space cooperation into a deadlock. It has not curtailed the rapid development of Chinese space technology, nor has it hindered the rise of China's space industry. Instead, it has increasingly trapped the US in a web of its own making, placing it in an awkward position.

"China's ability to explore space is already fully autonomous. If sharing technology or results is desired, China is not opposed, but it no longer relies on external forces," Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. 

In the long run, the US must return to a path of cooperative, win-win engagement. In addition to the field of space science, systematic restrictions on Chinese chips, artificial intelligence, drones, and scientific exchanges, justified under the banner of "security," have ultimately increased costs for the US. Scientific development has its inherent rules, and international cooperation has objective requirements; policies that violate these principles ultimately consume the implementing party and undermine global technological progress and public safety. 

Space cooperation should not be treated as a tool of pressure. When cooperation is regarded as a concession, the real price is often paid by the side that refuses to cooperate.

China has always maintained an open attitude toward scientific exchanges. The US should also open the door for cooperation between the two countries. "Full openness cannot be expected, but a step-by-step approach is possible. Especially as space becomes increasingly crowded, the benefits of cooperation between major powers certainly outweigh the unilateral gains of isolation," Lü said. The emergence and long-standing existence of the Wolf Amendment are driven by the pathological mind-set of certain American politicians toward China. As some reflective voices within the US suggest, for the US to strengthen space cooperation with China, it may begin with the repeal of the Wolf Amendment.