WASHINGTON -- China is exploiting partnerships with U.S.researchers funded by the Department of Energy to provide the Chinese military with access to sensitive nuclear technology and other innovations with economic and national security applications, according to a congressional report published Wednesday.The investigation is part of a congressional push to raise a firewall blocking U.S.research from boosting China's military buildup when the two countries are locked in a tech and arms rivalry that will shape the future global order.Investigators from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce identified more than 4,300 academic papers published between June 2023 and June of this year that involved collaborations between DOE-funded scientists and Chinese researchers.
About half of the papers involved Chinese researchers affiliated with China's military or industrial base.The report followed a number of congressional investigations into federally funded research involving Chinese scientists and researchers.Last year, a report released by Republicans found that partnerships between U.S.and Chinese universities over the past decade had allowed hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to help Beijing develop critical technology that could help strengthen its military.
Another investigation this year revealed that the Pentagon in a recent two-year period funded hundreds of projects in collaboration with Chinese entities linked to China's defense industry.Popular ReadsRob Reiner's son arrested for murder in stabbing death of famed director, wifeDec 15, 6:39 PMHouse GOP unveils health care measure that does not extend ACA subsidiesDec 13, 11:45 AMTrump admin live updates: Trump pardons former entertainment exec indicted by own DOJDec 4, 6:23 AM“These longstanding policy failures and inaction have left taxpayer-funded research vulnerable to exploitation by China’s defense research and industrial base and state-directed technology transfer activities,” the authors concluded.Moolenaar this year introduced legislation aimed at preventing research funding in science and technology and defense from going to collaborations or partnerships with “foreign adversary-controlled” entities that pose a national security risk.
