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Dear reader,

Academic collaboration is one of the few fields where exchange with China remains possible. Resuming exchange programs for visiting students would be highly welcome. Contact with Chinese scientists makes sense and is worthy of support. After all, access to reliable information about what is happening in the People’s Republic is becoming scarce.

However, it is also alarming how naïve some academics are when it comes to collaborating with Chinese partners. A survey by the think tank CEIAS has revealed: European universities also cooperate with research partners who maintain ties to the People’s Liberation Army. And this also applies to fields such as computer science or life sciences. Thus, the Chinese military benefits from European research collaboration. There is a “dire risk” of “forced technology transfer,” says Matej Šimalčík, Executive Director of CEIAS, in an interview with Amelie Richter. Security awareness at universities is far too low.

Collaborations are a good thing, but they should also be well-executed, especially in security-related disciplines. However, German universities are not sufficiently prepared for cooperation with Chinese institutions, says Šimalčík.

China is currently taking a less than cooperative verbal stance against Nancy Pelosi’s planned visit to Taiwan. Some wolf warriors and government media are bringing out new verbal weapons, analyzes Michael Radunski. The saber-rattling is getting louder and more dangerous. At first glance, there is hardly a suitable way to solve it. If Pelosi cancels her trip, China’s aggression will have succeeded. If she travels to Taiwan, the visit could further deteriorate US relations with the People’s Republic. But as our author explains, there is a way out.

Your
Nico Beckert

Interview

‘Universities are not prepared for cooperation with China’

The Chinese military benefits from research cooperation between Europe and China. European universities collaborate with partners in Xinjiang. Matej Šimalčík of the think tank CEIAS and his team have taken a closer look at the ties between European and Chinese research institutions and uncovered some alarming findings. German universities fare particularly poorly. The interview was conducted by Amelie Richter.

Which universities and research institutes in Europe are cooperating with Chinese institutions? The “Academic Engagement Tracker” of the Central European think tank The Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS) has recorded more than 2,300 ties of academic institutions with Chinese cooperation partners and summarized details on their respective scientific cooperation.

Mr. Šimalčík, what areas of academic cooperation are you most concerned about?

There are some worrying trends that we have observed: First, we see a high share of collaboration with Chinese entities linked to the defense sector, such as the People’s Liberation Army, and military research and development. On average, over 40 percent of all connections are to military-linked entities. This share is highest in Austria and Germany, where it is around 55 percent. All but one of the top 10 most active Chinese universities are linked to the Chinese defense sector.

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