China's investments in research and development in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and renewable energy have, according to the rectors, led to a technological race with the USA, which previously dominated the playing field.
"If collaborations with China do not develop within specific areas, Europe risks its economic development, long-term security, and ends up in a scientific backwater," the rectors write.
However, they point out that there are risks associated with collaborating with China, but that there are research areas such as sustainable technology where the risks can be circumvented:
"A neutral area where both Sweden and China have strong incentives to collaborate to meet global challenges such as climate change and resource scarcity."
The rectors behind the debate article are Martin Nilsson Jacobi at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Anders Söderholm at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Erik Renström at Lund University, and Anders Hagfeldt at Uppsala University.
