American Computer Scientists in China in 1972: The Complexity of Sino-American Scientific Exchange in the Cold War

Abstract Historians long have overlooked the role of American scientists in the production of knowledge about Chinese society during the Cold War that they made available to other scientists and interested members of the general public in the 1970s. This article draws on the record of a delegation of prominent American computer scientists who visited the People’s Republic of China ( prc ) in 1972 and explores how they not only conveyed scientific knowledge, but also acted as observers of Chinese society and political environment and transmitted this knowledge to the American audience. The article thus highlights the role of scientists as agents of social knowledge production. While American social scientists were important agents of knowledge circulation, scientists also played the role of facilitating the growth of information about China’s society and its political situation through their first-hand observations. The reaction of American computer scientists to the arranged tour also reveals the limited effectiveness of Chinese leadership to use scientific visits as a means to showcase the successes of socialism in the prc .