Concerns over China’s economic espionage and technology transfer have been mounting for years now, but 2018 proved to be a significant turning point in Washington. A slew of reports, hearings, and even new legislation emerged over the course of the year that, taken together, produced a cacophony of alarm bells. U.S. political rhetoric on China was escalating as was scrutiny on Chinese investments in Silicon Valley startups and Chinese talent programs that sought to recruit American scientists.
Many of the reports or hearings listed below mentioned Danhua Capital, the venture capital firm founded by Zhang Shoucheng, the subject of this week’s cover story. Zhang, a Stanford physicist, was also a participant in China’s Thousand Talents program, which also came under fire. Danhua and Zhang were never accused of wrongdoing. But when Zhang died of an apparent suicide in December 2018, friends and colleagues wondered whether U.S. government scrutiny darkened the life of a man who family members said was battling depression. Danhua had been named in congressional hearings and in a report released by the office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
In this week’s Big Picture, we glance back at the environment in 2018 — a year that began with Zhang in Beijing, receiving a prestigious award from Chinese President Xi Jinping, and ended in San Francisco, with his tragic death.

Jan. 2018
Zhang Shoucheng is awarded China’s International Science and Technology Cooperation Award with Xi Jinping (far left) presiding.

Jan. 2018
The Pentagon releases a report entitled “China’s Technology Transfer Strategy: How Chinese Investments in Emerging Technology Enable A Strategic Competitor to Access the Crown Jewels of U.S. Innovation.”

Feb. 13, 2018
The Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence holds an open hearing on worldwide threats, which features comments about Chinese students in the U.S. and tech companies with ties to the Chinese state.

March 2018
The U.S. Trade Representative releases a report on his investigation into China’s efforts to transfer U.S. technology and intellectual property.

June 6, 2018
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing originally entitled “Thousand Talents: China’s Campaign to Infiltrate and Exploit U.S. Academia.”

July 19, 2018
Elsa Kania testifies before the House Select Committee on Intelligence at a hearing on “China’s Threat to American Government and Private Sector Research and Innovation Leadership.”

Aug. 13, 2018
The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act is signed into law; requirements include mandatory reporting and security reviews of venture-capital investments by foreigners in certain strategic fields.

Sept. 26, 2018
The House Oversight’s Subcommittee on Information Technology holds a hearing on “Countering China: Ensuring that America Remains the World Leader in Technology and Innovation.”

Nov. 1, 2018
The U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI announce an initiative to “identify priority Chinese trade theft cases, ensure that we have enough resources dedicated to them, and make sure that we bring them to an appropriate conclusion quickly and effectively.”

Nov. 20, 2018
The U.S. Trade Representative releases an update to his March report, showing how China “appears to have taken further unreasonable actions.”

Dec. 1, 2018
Zhang Shoucheng dies in San Francisco.

Emma Bingham is a Boston-based editor for The Wire. Previously, she was editor in chief of The Tech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. @emmapbingham

Kara Greenberg is an editor at The Wire. @karagreenberg_