Geopolitical tensions with the US accelerate Chinese firms’ leveraging of science

Our analyses below reveal that US trade sanctions have generated consequences that US policy-makers may not have fully anticipated. Rather than merely restricting Chinese firms’ access to proprietary technologies, these measures are associated with accelerated engagement with scientific knowledge, reflected in both intensified use of publicly accessible science in patenting and increased participation in scientific knowledge production.

I’d say this is the law of unintended consequences at work, but seriously did anyone not see this coming?