I was surprised to see that, too. It is a rare combination, perhaps a hopeful one if there are problems that funding agencies in both countries see as important-enough to fund alongside their frequently-presumed competitor.

However, a closer read suggests that the author did the work at UMass Amherst, then took a professorship in Shenzhen.

Often it is done simply to get reports. The research is likely going to happen anyway in a lot of these areas. Signing a deal to give some money commits the researchers to give reports used to monitor the program.

Interestingly, in 2018 Wuhan lab applied for US DARPA grant to produce a bat coronavirus chimera.

https://www.newsweek.com/darpa-denies-funding-defuse-wuhan-i...

https://theintercept.com/2021/09/23/coronavirus-research-gra...