In the face of increasing geopolitical tensions, global technological cooperation faces serious obstacles. In January 2026, during an event attended by six Nobel Prize winners – from Britain, Hungary, Russia, Switzerland and the United States – co-organised by the University of Hong Kong (HKU), participants warned against increasing barriers to technological exchange, especially between the US and China.
The vice president of HKU, mathematician Wang Yang, pointed out that American restrictions – specified as reporting duties or another administrative barriers – make travelling to China importantly more difficult. Although cooperation with Europe remains comparatively open, the situation with the US deteriorated especially after Donald Trump took office, which active cuts in investigation backing and increased force on Chinese scientists. As a result, many of them are considering moving to China or Europe.
President HKU, Xiang Zhang – engineer of Chinese-American origin – stressed that any countries are "uncoupling" with global technological cooperation. Although "science knows no borders", the current political reality poses real risks to technological progress. HKU seeks to act as a bridge between China and the world, despite the limited field of cooperation.
The Nobel Prize laureate from Physics 2023, Ferenc Krausz, prof. of HKU and laser physicist, warned against the drive of any political leaders to divide the planet into “Western Hemisphere” and “Eastern”. According to him, trying to halt cognition within 1 geopolitical region would be a disaster for humanity. Researchers are obliged to argue specified tendencies and to defend the universal nature of technological knowledge.
Despite the difficulties, the academic community in Hong Kong continues its efforts to keep open channels of cooperation, recognising them as crucial to addressing global challenges specified as climate change or pandemics.
Source:
- South China Morning Post – “US restrictions on scientists visiting China could be disastrous, Nobel wins warn” (17 January 2026): https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3298745/us-restrictions-scientists-visiting-china-could-be-disastrous-nobel-laureates-warn
- Hku News – Coverage of the Nobel Winners Forum (January 2026): https://www.hku.hk/press/news_detail_27891.html
- Official website of Prof. Ferenc Krausz, HKU: https://eng.lfs.hku.hk/people/prof-ferenc-krausz/
- SCMP autohor profile – Holly Chik: https://www.scmp.com/staff/holly-chik
Leszek B. Glass
Email: [email protected]
