South Michigan News

A new report released by Committee on Education and Workforce Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) details how U.S. universities are maintaining partnerships with Chinese institutions that could support China's military ambitions.

"I’m pleased to publish this report with Chairman Moolenaar," said Chairman Walberg. "It highlights the ever-growing threat of the Chinese Communist Party exploiting our education system to their military advantage. No American university should be helping the Chinese Communist Party through dangerous research partnerships masquerading as purely ‘academic.’ This is why we need legislation like the DETERRENT Act and the SAFE Research Act to protect our country from malicious foreign influence."

Chairman Moolenaar added, "American universities should never be a pipeline for the Chinese Communist Party’s military ambitions, and this report reveals alarming new details about their partnerships with CCP-controlled institutions. These collaborations empower China’s military and exploit research paid for by American taxpayers. That’s why I am working with Chairman Walberg to pass the SAFE Research Act, which will end joint institutes, and stop our tax dollars from aiding our adversaries."

The committees' investigation found over one hundred additional academic partnerships between U.S. universities and Chinese entities, including more than fifty that were assessed as direct risks to national security.

"Joint Institutes—entities based in China that pair American universities with Chinese institutions—are not typical academic collaborations that benefit students from both countries. They are under the thumb of the CCP. They operate under PRC law; are run by Chinese-majority boards and have Party presence in leadership; and are aligned with the CCP’s national strategy, including its military buildup," according to lawmakers. "Chinese government funding dominates these joint institutes, and the use of funds is restricted by law to align with CCP goals."

Among notable cases cited in the report:

- Three joint degree programs between U.S. universities and China’s Seven Sons of National Defense.

- A submarine engineering research partnership between University of Houston and Dalian Maritime University.

- A dual degree in aircraft power engineering involving Shenyang Aerospace University—a university supervised by a blacklisted Chinese military company—and Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

- A mechanical design program linking North China Institute of Aerospace Engineering—controlled by blacklisted defense companies—and Saint Martin’s University in Washington state.

Previous investigations led by these committees have documented significant federal research funding supporting technological advances in China across nuclear technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, and quantum computing.

Following these findings, Chairman Moolenaar authored the SAFE Research Act, now included in House-passed defense legislation as of September 10. The bill aims to block federal STEM funding for any institution or researcher collaborating with China's military or intelligence services.

Tim Walberg currently represents Michigan's 5th district in Congress since 2011 after previously serving in Michigan's state legislature (https://walberg.house.gov/about/full-biography). Born in Chicago in 1951, he resides in Tipton (https://walberg.house.gov/about/full-biography).