In late May a proposal in the US Congress to prohibit American research institutions from using federal funds for collaborations with certain Chinese entities sparked sharp reactions from academics and publishers.
Zhang Ning, founder of the Maryland-based editing firm TopEdit, first heard of the measure during the annual meeting of the Society for Scholarly Publishing in San Diego.
He described his initial response as blunt, telling a vice-president of a global publishing company that the idea was absurd.
Zhang later recalled thinking the proposal was ridiculous and noted that even if the bill failed it reflected a growing sense of irrationality in global affairs.