January 1, Colleges Training Chinese Military-Linked Scientists

Wyatt’s Take

• Report finds hundreds of Chinese nationals linked to China’s military doing research at top US colleges.
• Biden administration failed to enforce rules meant to block military-linked students.
• American taxpayers are footing the bill for science training that may support China’s military ambitions.

A new committee report has uncovered that American universities are giving advanced science education to Chinese students tied directly to Beijing’s military. Over 400 Chinese nationals at just one of six surveyed colleges were involved in federally funded research in areas like nuclear engineering and computer science.

The report says the Biden administration ignored an order from President Trump to ban military-linked Chinese nationals from sensitive research. Chinese officials are pushing hard to win global AI dominance and are using students as unofficial intelligence gatherers, the report claims.

Every school looked at admitted students from China’s elite military research universities, known as the Seven Sons of National Defense. U.S. tax dollars are funding these students’ lab work and training with little tracking of actual research assignments.

“USC already maintains strong safeguards to protect national security – by requiring the disclosure of foreign financial interests and affiliations, strictly reviewing potential conflicts of interest, and prohibiting participation in restricted foreign talent programs – and we are always open to feedback on how our processes can be strengthened even further,” stated USC in response to the report.

Committee Chairman John Moolenaar warned,

“We cannot allow America’s taxpayer-funded research labs and classrooms to serve as staging grounds for Beijing’s military ambitions.”

Chinese military schools operate large defense labs and partner with state-owned arms-makers. Beihang University, with defense ties, has students in every surveyed US college. At the University of Maryland, more than 25% of Chinese students were working on federally funded projects, yet the school did not track exact assignments.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ran a joint institute with a Chinese university known for working with China’s defense sector and intelligence services. Meanwhile, some American universities hosted visiting Chinese faculty in sensitive science fields, while their own professors have traveled to government-linked Chinese labs for research breaks.

Purdue University responded to the report by tightening research controls, banning adversary funding, and adding security checks. The committee pointed to these changes as a model for protecting American interests.

One claim often made is that foreign students pay extra tuition and help support US classmates. But the report found that, at one school, Chinese nationals made up over 20% of Ph.D. students in science but paid less than 1% of total tuition, since their fees are covered by government grants and assistantships.

With concerns rising about China’s influence, the findings point to a need for colleges and policymakers to put Americans first when it comes to federally funded education and research.

Read more at Fox News

Wyatt Matters

America’s know-how and tax dollars should build our future, not strengthen a foreign rival’s military. Hardworking families want their money going to neighbors and kids, not funding risky overseas partnerships.