A group of House Republicans is urging the Biden administration not to renew a long-standing agreement with China on cooperation in science and technology.

The agreement, which dates back to when the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1979, between the United States and China will expire on Aug. 27. It’s been renewed roughly every five years since it was agreed upon to promote cooperation in areas like science and agriculture, among many others.

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Lawmakers warned in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, dated on Tuesday, that the partnership could result in the development of technology that may be used against the U.S. later on.

"The [People's Republic of China] continues to practice military-civil fusion, seeking to leverage civilian and commercial research for military and defense purposes," they wrote. "The evidence available suggests that the PRC will continue to look for opportunities to exploit partnerships organized under the [Science and Technology Agreement] to advance its military objectives to the greatest extent possible and, in some cases, to attempt to undermine American sovereignty. The United States must stop fueling its own destruction. Letting the STA expire is a good first step."

The letter also noted the Department of Agriculture has over a dozen active research projects with Chinese entities, which the lawmakers warned provide them with "clear dual-use applications, such as developing techniques for analyzing satellite and drone imagery for irrigation management."

They cited a 2018 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration project with China’s Meteorological Administration under this agreement, in which they launched balloons to study the atmosphere. The Republicans pointed out that Beijing ultimately used that to launch a surveillance balloon in February that traversed the continental U.S. before the U.S. military shot it down over the Atlantic Ocean.

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Ten lawmakers signed the letter, nine of whom are members of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, including the committee's chairman, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI).

No Democrats signed on to the letter, and a spokesperson with the ranking member's office declined to comment.