Chinese Interference in UK Academia
- obscure their military affiliations, including through the use of misleading historical names for their institutions or even the use of non-existent institutions.[1] A document published by the leading Chinese defence university, the National University of Defence Technology, advises students that military and political courses can be excluded from their academic records when applying to foreign institutions.[2] Once established in academic institutions, these students are in a position to identify and exfiltrate valuable Information Data and IP back to China.
- In addition to using students to steal information and IP, China also utilises so-called 'Talent Programmes'. Originally, these programmes were established to attract Chinese research scientists back to China; however, they now recruit Western scientists as well. For instance, the 'Thousand Talents' Programme is made up of a number of schemes that are aimed both at Chinese scientists working abroad, and at foreign scientists, offering very significant remuneration and research budgets to work and/or teach in China.
- These programmes are established by the Chinese state and aim to transfer Information Data and IP from the participants to Chinese research entities or government agencies. This is not necessarily illegal and is done overtly—however, it is noteworthy that, in the US, researchers are obliged to disclose funding from foreign governments when applying for government grants. In 2018, Texas Tech University warned its staff that recipients of 'Thousand Talents' grants could, in future, be barred from working on research funded by the US Department of Defense or by federal research grants. The US Congress was told by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in December 2018 that such programmes "encourage theft of intellectual property from US institutions".[3] No such action appears to have been taken in the UK to prevent IP and information being transferred out of the UK, either through 'Talent Programmes' or more generally.
Case study: Chinese Talent Programmes
China operates a number of Party- and state-sponsored Talent Programmes to recruit researchers (both Chinese and non-Chinese nationals), who are then incentivised to steal foreign technologies needed to advance China's national, military and economic goals.[4] Participants in Chinese Talent Programmes have been known to go on to register patents in China on behalf of the Chinese government[5]—yet these have been based on research funded by foreign governments. China benefits from this Intellectual Property and associated royalties, at the cost of others.
In one specific case ***.[6]- ↑ 'Picking flowers, making honey—The Chinese military's collaboration with foreign universities', Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 26 October 2018.
- ↑ 'Picking flowers, making honey—The Chinese military's collaboration with foreign universities', Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 26 October 2018.
- ↑ 'China hushes up scheme to recruit overseas scientists', Financial Times, 10 January 2019.
- ↑ 'The China Threat: Chinese Talent Plans Encourage Trade Secret Theft, Economic Espionage', FBI website, accessed 26 April 2023.
- ↑ 'Threats to the US Research Enterprise: China's Talent Recruitment Plans', US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, 18 November 2019.
- ↑ Written evidence—HMG, 18 April 2019.
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